Citation Nr: 21032798 Decision Date: 05/28/21 Archive Date: 05/28/21 DOCKET NO. 181107-1333 DATE: May 28, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for hypertension (HTN) secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II, is dismissed. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. In October 2018, the Veteran timely appealed the August 2018 RAMP decision by submitting a VA form 21-4138 and electing evidence submission. 2. In March 2021, the Board remanded the claim for service connection for HTN under the Appeals Modernization Act. 3. A March 22, 2021 Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) that denied service connection for HTN was issued in error. CONCLUSION OF LAW The Board lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate the claim of service connection for HTN and the criteria for dismissal of entitlement to service connection for HTN have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 19.55. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from December 1968 to December 1972. He died in October 2020. The Veteran's wife filed a timely request to be substituted as the appellant in his place. The rating decision on appeal was issued in August 2018. In May 2018, the Veteran elected the modernized review system. 84 Fed. Reg. 138, 177 (Jan. 18, 2019) (to be codified at 38 C.F.R. §19.2(d)). The Veteran selected the Higher-Level Review lane when he opted into the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA) review system by submitting a Rapid Appeals Modernization Program (RAMP) election form. His legacy appeal was withdrawn. The August 2018 AMA rating decision considered the evidence of record as of the date VA received the RAMP election form (May 2, 2018). The Veteran timely appeal this rating decision to the Board and requested the evidence submission review lane, allowing him 90 days to submit evidence pertinent to his claim. See October 2018 Appeals Election Letter. In May 2019, the Board remanded the issues of entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and for entitlement to service connection for chronic kidney disease. The Board additionally denied entitlement to an increased rating for a generalized anxiety disorder between October 1, 2010 to January 21, 2013 and granted an increased rating of 50 percent, but no higher, for a generalized anxiety disorder beginning January 22, 2013. The Board also denied service connection for PTSD and a claim for entitlement to service connection for hypertension (claimed as high blood pressure). Thereafter, the Veteran appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In an April 2020 Joint Motion for Remand (JMR), the Secretary of VA and the Veteran (the parties) moved the Court to vacate, in part, the May 2019 decision to the extent that it denied entitlement to an increased rating in excess of 30 percent prior to January 21, 2013, and a rating in excess of 50 percent thereafter for other specified trauma and stressor related disorder. The Court additionally vacated the Board's denial of entitlement to service connection for PTSD and entitlement to service connection for hypertension. A March 2020 rating decision granted service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, and chronic kidney disease. A March 2021 Board decision granted a rating of 70 percent for the entire period on appeal for other specified trauma and stressor related disorder and granted service connection for PTSD. Therefore, these claims are no longer before the Board. In that same decision, the Board remanded the claim for HTN for additional development, the claim addressed in this decision. Entitlement to service connection for hypertension (HTN) secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II As noted above, the claim stems from a May 2018 RAMP opt-in election form and requested a Higher-Level Review rating decision under the modernized review system. See 84 Fed. Reg. 138, 177 (Jan. 18, 2019); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.2400(c); 19.2(d). Subsequent adjudications of the claim through the March 2021 Board remand adjudicated the claim under the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA). It should be noted that under the AMA following a Board remand of the appeal will not automatically return to the Board for further adjudication; a new notice of disagreement (NOD) or supplemental claim would have to be filed by the appellant or her representative to pursue any further claim related to HTN. Following the March 2021 Board remand, a March 22, 2021, SSOC that denied service connection for HTN was issued in error. As noted above, under the AMA following a Board remand return to the Board is not guaranteed as it was under the legacy system and, as such, an SSOC was not the appropriate course of action by the RO. The Board recognizes that an April 2021 letter was sent to the appellant indicating that her legacy appeal had been placed on the Board's docket. For the reasons discussed above, however, the Board no longer has jurisdiction of any legacy claim. In light of the foregoing, the Board does not have jurisdiction over the issue, and it is dismissed without prejudice. MARJORIE A. AUER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Kelsey Love, Associate 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.