Citation Nr: 21032215
Decision Date: 05/26/21	Archive Date: 05/26/21

DOCKET NO. 20-28 326A
DATE: May 26, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to payment or reimbursement of medical expenses is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from September 1966 to July 1967.  This appeal is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration.

In this case, VA administrative records indicate that the initial decision on appeal was issued on December 19, 2018; that a notice of disagreement was filed by the Veteran on April 10, 2019; that a statement of the case and supplemental statement of the case were issued by the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) on April 30, 2019, and May 22, 2020, respectively; that the Veteran filed a substantive appeal to the Board on  July 11, 2020; and that the AOJ certified the matter to the Board on March 30, 2021.  

However, these documents and other documentation pertinent to the issue of payment or reimbursement of medical expenses on appeal is not in the electronic record.  Therefore, the appeal must be remanded in order for the AOJ to reconstruct the record, if necessary, and upload all documentation related to the appeal to the electronic claims file.  If such records are unable to be located, the AOJ should make a formal finding of unavailability.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Reconstruct the record, if necessary, and upload all documentation related to the Veteran's claim for entitlement to payment or reimbursement of medical expenses to the electronic claims file.

2. If such records are unable to be associated with the record, make a formal finding of unavailability

 

 

JONATHAN B. KRAMER

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Andrew Mack, Counsel

The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.