What’s New in VCH: July 2026 Product Updates

We’ve shipped a batch of updates over the past week focused on getting you answers out of the C-File faster, keeping cases organized, and making notifications more dependable. Here’s what’s new.

Introducing C-File Browse

The biggest addition this round is C-File Browse, a brand new way to work with a processed C-File. Previously, finding a specific document meant downloading the zip file and extracting it on your own computer. Now you can open individual source documents and pages directly in VCH, no download or extraction required.

We also built a Q&A tool right into C-File Browse. Instead of hunting page by page for a specific rating decision or exam note, you can type a question and get an answer grounded in that veteran’s actual C-File.

• Browse the C-File by individual source document or page, right in your browser, with no zip file to download or extract.
• Run a keyword search across the entire C-File right from the Browse screen, and jump straight to the matching page.
• Ask a question from the C-File Browse screen and get an answer sourced from the document, not a generic AI guess.
• Jump straight to the dedicated question and answer view for a fuller read of the response.
• We also lowered the price for Q/A to $1, down to $1 per question from $5, to make it easier to try.

How to Get to C-File Browse

1. Open the case and go to the AI Analysis Jobs tab.
2. Find the completed job for the veteran’s C-File and click View Report.
3. On the report screen, click Browse & Search C-File.

From there you can open any source document or page, or ask a question straight from the toolbar.

Keeping Cases Organized

A few updates make it easier to manage a growing caseload:

• Recently Viewed now tracks the cases you’ve opened most recently, so you can jump back into active work without hunting through the case list.
• Case Details now has a built-in filing checklist that tracks whether the Intent to File, Power of Attorney, and Fee Agreement have been filed, along with the dates, right alongside the case.

Smarter Notifications

Two changes keep you and your clients in the loop automatically:

• Firms can now send intake completion notifications to multiple email addresses instead of just one, so more than one person on your team can be notified when a new intake comes in.
• When an AI-assisted claims import finishes, or fails, the user who requested it now gets an automatic email letting them know, with a direct link to review the imported claims.

As always, if you run into anything unexpected with these features, reach out and let us know.

Never Miss a Claim Deadline Again: Introducing Multi-Claim Tracking in VCH

If you’ve ever managed more than one active VA claim for the same veteran, say an original compensation claim alongside a supplemental claim, or a Higher-Level Review running parallel to a new increase request, you already know the problem: every claim has its own timeline, its own decision dates, and its own deadlines. Keeping them straight in a spreadsheet or a stack of sticky notes doesn’t scale, and a missed deadline can mean a veteran loses out on backpay or an appeal window closes for good.

Today we’re rolling out multi-claim tracking, a major upgrade to how VCH organizes, imports, and monitors every claim tied to a case, so nothing falls through the cracks.

One Case, Every Claim, Fully Tracked

Instead of a single set of dates bolted onto a case, every case can now hold multiple distinct claims, each with its own type (Original Compensation, Increase, Supplemental Claim, Higher-Level Review, Notice of Disagreement, Board Appeal, and more), its own status, its own filing date, and its own timeline of events and conditions. You can add claims manually in seconds, or let VCH build them for you automatically, as described below.

Each claim keeps a running timeline of the events that matter: when it was filed, when a rating decision came back, when a Statement of the Case was issued, and what the outcome was for each condition rated. It’s the same level of detail you’d track by hand, just organized and searchable in one place.

If you already had cases in VCH before today, you don’t need to re-enter anything. Any existing Latest Rating Decision and Intent to File dates were automatically migrated into the new claims tracking system, so your existing deadlines carried over without any manual work on your end.

And of course, you’re never locked into what was imported or migrated. Every claim can be added, edited, or corrected by hand at any time, so if a date needs adjusting or you’d rather build a claim’s history yourself from scratch, that’s just as easy as letting VCH do it automatically.

Claims, Imported Straight From the C-File

This is the part we’re most excited about. VCH’s AI-powered C-File analysis can now read an uploaded C-File and automatically extract every claim it finds, including filing dates, rating decisions, appeals, and outcomes, and turn them directly into structured, trackable claims on the case.

No more manually re-typing dates out of a 500-page PDF. Just check a single box, “Import Claims,” before running the analysis on your uploaded C-File. When the analysis finishes, VCH automatically builds out the claim history it found, including original claims, supplemental claims, appeals, and decisions, and populates them right into the Claims tab, ready to review.

It’s the fastest way to get a veteran’s entire claim history into the system accurately, without the manual data entry.

Claim Dates, Front and Center on the Calendar

Every important date tied to a claim, whether it’s a projected decision, an appeal deadline, or a one-year window to act, now shows up automatically on your firm’s calendar. Because tracking now happens at the claim level instead of just the case level, the calendar gives you a true picture of everything in motion: a case with three overlapping claims shows three sets of deadlines, not one blended (and easy-to-miss) date.

Weekly Email Alerts, So Deadlines Find You

Claim deadlines don’t just sit on a calendar waiting to be checked. VCH’s weekly email digest surfaces upcoming claim dates directly in your inbox, so your team gets a heads-up before a deadline arrives, not after. If a particular claim doesn’t need alerts (say, it’s already fully resolved), you can disable notifications for that claim individually, without turning off tracking for the rest of the case.

Why This Matters

VA disability claims move on strict timelines, and veterans with multiple concurrent claims are exactly the cases where deadlines are easiest to lose track of. Multi-claim tracking is built to close that gap:

• Accurate history, automatically: claims imported directly from the C-File, not retyped by hand.
• Nothing hidden: every claim’s deadlines are visible on the calendar, regardless of its individual settings.
• Proactive, not reactive: weekly email alerts mean your team hears about a deadline before it’s urgent.

Multi-claim tracking is live now for all VCH accounts. Head to any case’s Claims tab to add a claim manually, or upload a C-File and check “Import Claims” to let VCH do the work for you.

Questions about the new Claims feature? Reach out to our support team at support@vaclaimhelper.com. We’re happy to walk through it with you.

Introducing Dropbox: A Secure, Self-Service Way for Clients to Get Their Documents

If you’ve ever emailed a veteran their C&P exam results, a decision letter, or a signed fee agreement, you already know the problem: once that email is sent, it’s gone. It sits in an inbox forever, you can’t revoke it if you sent the wrong version, and if the client’s account ever gets compromised, so does everything you ever sent them.

Dropbox is a new feature in VCH that fixes this. It gives every firm a permanent, secure, self-service page where your clients can verify who they are and download exactly the documents you’ve chosen to share with them: nothing more, nothing less.

How it works for your clients

Every firm gets one durable link:

vaclaimhelper.com/vch/dropbox/{your-firm-id}

You can post this link anywhere: your website, your email signature, a text message, an intake packet. It never expires and never changes, so you only have to share it once.

When a veteran or claimant visits the link, they’ll see your firm’s logo and branding, and a short form asking for:

• First and last name
• Date of birth
• The last 4 digits of their Social Security number

That’s it. No account, no password to remember, no app to install. After a quick spam check (the same kind of “I’m not a robot” challenge you’ve seen on other sites), they’re shown a list of exactly the documents you’ve flagged for them, ready to download.

How it works for you

Flagging a document takes one click. From any case’s Documents tab, you’ll see a new Dropbox column. Check the box next to any document and it’s instantly available on that client’s Dropbox page. Uncheck it, and it’s gone. There’s also a Copy Dropbox Link button right there so you can grab your firm’s link without hunting for it.

That’s the entire workflow. No separate upload step, no re-sending. If a document is already in the case, flagging it for Dropbox takes seconds.

Why this is more secure than email

We built Dropbox around a simple principle: the link itself isn’t a secret, so the real protection has to come from verifying the person, not from hiding the URL.

• Identity verification: name, date of birth, and last-4 SSN together are checked against your firm’s actual case records before anyone sees a document list.
• Automatic lockout: five incorrect attempts locks that person out of Dropbox entirely. You’ll see it under Admin → Dropbox Lockouts, along with a one-click Unlock button once you’ve confirmed with your client who they are.
• Short sessions: access expires automatically after 25 minutes of inactivity, so a shared or public computer doesn’t leave the door open behind them.
• Nothing lingers: downloads are served through short-lived links that expire within minutes, rather than a permanent file sitting in an inbox forever. If you unflag a document, it disappears immediately, even if someone had the page open.

None of this requires anything from you or your client beyond the four pieces of information above. The security happens automatically, behind the scenes.

Getting started

Dropbox is live on your account already. There’s nothing to turn on. Grab your firm’s link from the Copy Dropbox Link button on any case’s Documents tab, flag a document, and it’s ready to share.

Questions? Reach out to VCH support (support@vaclaimhelper.com) and we’ll help you get the most out of it.

After running AI analysis on a C-File, VCH can identify potentially reviewable issues and help prefill the
20-0996 with relevant decision information. Instead of starting from a blank form, you can use the AI results
as a starting point and generate a draft Higher-Level Review request faster.

This is especially useful when reviewing prior VA decisions, claimed conditions, ratings, denial language,
and effective dates across a long claims history. VCH helps surface the information from the C-File so you
can focus on reviewing strategy, accuracy, and what should actually be submitted.

Try it on your next case: run your AI C-File analysis, head to Generate Form, and select 20-0996.

Writing a Statement in Support of Claim (VA Form 21-4138) from scratch takes time. Now you don’t have to start from a blank page — you can generate a draft statement directly from your existing C-File analysis with one click.

Choose to cover every eligible condition identified in the analysis, or hand-pick just the ones you want this statement to address. Each condition gets its own first-person paragraph, ready to drop into Section 2 of the form.

As with any AI-generated content, review and edit the draft before it’s signed or submitted to VA.

Try it on your next case: run your AI analysis, head to Generate Form, and select 21-4138.

New Forms: Marriage and Dependent Benefit Forms

We’ve added four new auto-fillable forms to VCH, rounding out our support for claims involving spouses and dependents.

Proving a marriage when paperwork is missing

Not every marriage comes with a clean paper trail — common-law marriages, marriages from decades ago, or situations where records were lost can all complicate a dependency claim. To help with that, we’ve added two companion forms:

• VA Form 21-4170 (Statement of Marital Relationship) — used when a veteran or surviving spouse needs to establish a marital relationship that isn’t otherwise documented.
• VA Form 21P-4171 (Supporting Statement Regarding Marriage) — a corroborating statement from a third party who can attest to the marriage, often filed alongside the 21-4170.

Both forms now auto-populate from your case data the same way our other statement forms do — no more retyping names, dates, and addresses by hand.

Education and health benefits for dependents

We’ve also added two forms tied to dependent-specific benefits:

• VA Form 22-5490 (Dependents’ Application for VA Education Benefits, DEA / Chapter 35) — for a dependent applying for education assistance under Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance.
• VA Form 10-10d (Application for CHAMPVA Benefits) — for a dependent applying for health care coverage through CHAMPVA.

Add your dependents first

Both the 22-5490 and 10-10d are generated per dependent, so before you can fill them out you’ll need the dependent on file. Open the veteran’s case, go to the new Dependents tab, and add each spouse or child with their relationship to the veteran. Once a dependent is added there, they’ll show up as a selectable option when you generate the 22-5490 or 10-10d, and the form will fill in automatically using their information.

This is the same Dependents tab we introduced recently for tracking relationship details on a case — these two forms are the first to plug directly into it, with more dependent-aware forms on the way.

What’s next

We’re continuing to round out dependent-related form coverage. If there’s a specific form you need that isn’t in the system yet, let us know.

We’ve been heads-down this week shipping several features that have been on the roadmap for a while. Here’s what’s new in VCH.

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AI Claims History Timeline

VCH can now generate a chronological timeline of a veteran’s entire claims history directly from their C-File. The timeline captures claims filings, C&P exams, rating decisions, Notices of Disagreement, appeals, BVA decisions, and more — automatically extracted and sorted by date.

Under the hood, VCH reads the structure of the C-File vault to pull event dates and document types, then uses AI to dig deeper into rating decisions, BVA decisions, and medical opinions to extract conditions, disability percentages, and effective dates. The result is a complete picture of where a veteran’s claims have been — and a useful starting point for understanding where they need to go.

Once generated, the timeline can be saved as a PDF directly to the case’s Documents tab with a single click, so it’s always on hand for your team.

Timeline generation is a $5.00 AI usage charge, billed to your firm’s daily AI batch alongside other AI analysis jobs.

To generate a timeline, open a C-File, run an AI analysis, and click Claims History Timeline from the AI report view.

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AI Runs Tab: Permanent History of C-File Analyses

Previously, completed AI analysis runs were tied to the C-File document view and could be easy to lose track of. Now, every AI analysis run executed on or after June 15th 2026 is stored permanently on the case and accessible from a dedicated tab.

Open any case and click the new AI Runs tab. You’ll see a table of every AI job that has been run against C-Files associated with that case — including the document analyzed, the run status, and when it was created. Completed runs have a View Report button that takes you directly back to the full report, so you never have to re-run an analysis just to find a result you already have.

Runs are retained as long as the associated C-File document exists in the system. If you’ve never run an AI analysis for a case, the tab will walk you through getting started and give you an overview of everything the AI can do:

• AI Report — gap analysis to surface unclaimed and under-rated benefits
• Claims History Timeline — chronological history of claims, appeals, and decisions
• Question & Answer — plain-language Q&A against the C-File with page references
• C-File Search — instant full-text search across the entire C-File
• AI Form Filling — automatic pre-fill of standard VA claim forms from C-File data

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Cases Export

Admins can now download a full export of every case in their firm — including all case notes — as an Excel spreadsheet. Each case gets its own worksheet tab, making it easy to review, share, or archive your caseload outside of VCH.

You’ll find the export button in the Admin panel under Export Cases. Click the button, wait a moment while the file generates, and a .xlsx file will download automatically.

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New Tutorial: How to Upload a C-File

All of the AI features above start with getting the veteran’s C-File into VCH. If you or someone on your team is new to that process, we published a step-by-step tutorial walking through exactly how to do it:

How to Upload a C-File to VCH →

As always, if you run into anything or have feedback, reach out through the support chat inside VCH. More updates coming soon.

We’ve added AI-powered form filling to VCH — a feature that reads a veteran’s analyzed C-File and automatically drafts the clinical content for VA Form 21-526EZ and VA Form 20-0995 so your team can spend less time typing and more time reviewing.

What It Does

When you open a C-File AI Analysis for a C-File and navigate to the form generation screen, VCH’s AI reads the claim analysis already on file for that veteran and produces structured, ready-to-review content for two of the most commonly filed forms:

• VA Form 21-526EZ (Application for Disability Compensation) — Section 16, Claim Information: the AI fills in the current disability name, the type of in-service exposure or event, a concise nexus explanation, and the approximate date the disability began or worsened — one row per claim.
• VA Form 20-0995 (Supplemental Claim) — Section 21: the AI drafts each specific issue the way a trained VA claims practitioner would write it, and pulls the corresponding VA decision notice date from the case file where available.

How the Claim Types Are Handled

The AI understands the four main claim patterns and formats each one correct

• Direct service connection — names the condition precisely and references the in-service event or injury
• Secondary / aggravation — names the primary service-connecpathway (e.g., “Secondary to SC PTSD through intermediate step of weightgain/obesity”)
• Toxic exposure / presumptive — flags TERA, burn pits, agent orange in the correct column
• Increase — prefixes the condition name with “Increase service connected” and generates a nexus line describing current symptom severity

What to Expect From the Output

The AI output is a starting point, not a final product. It is designed to gil-structured first draft that still requires a trained eye before filing. The system deliberately skips entries that describe evidence gaps, missing records,only named medical conditions with an identifiable nexus make it onto the form.

AI-generated forms are available now for all cases that have completed a C-Fnavigate to Generate Forms, and select 21-526EZ or 20-0995 to try it.

VCH Update: Latest VA Form Revisions Are Now Available

VCH has been updated with the latest available versions of several commonly used VA forms. These updates help keep generated documents aligned with the current PDFs published by VA, reducing the risk of outdated forms being used in claim development, submissions, or client workflows.

The updated forms include several high-use disability, pension, decision review, statement, unemployability, and records-request forms.

Forms Updated in VCH

VA Form 21-0966 — Intent to File

Used to notify VA that a claimant intends to file for compensation, pension, survivors pension, or DIC benefits. This can be an important effective-date protection step when a full claim is not ready yet.

VA Form 21-10210 — Lay/Witness Statement

Used for lay or witness statements supporting a VA claim. This form is often used for buddy statements, spouse statements, claimant statements, and other firsthand observations that help explain symptoms, events, limitations, or history.

VA Form 21-4138 — Statement in Support of Claim

Used to submit a statement supporting a claim. This form is commonly used to provide additional information, explanations, or supporting details related to a VA claim.

VA Form 21-8940 — Veteran’s Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability

Used when a veteran is applying for Individual Unemployability due to service-connected disability preventing steady employment.

VA Form 21-4192 — Request for Employment Information in Connection with Claim for Disability Benefits

Used by an employer to provide employment information for a veteran applying for Individual Unemployability. This form is commonly used alongside VA Form 21-8940.

VA Form 20-0995 — Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim

Used to request a Supplemental Claim when a claimant disagrees with a VA decision and has new and relevant evidence or otherwise meets the requirements for that review lane.

VA Form 20-10206 — FOIA or Privacy Act Request

Used to request military records, compensation records, pension records, benefit records, or other personal VA records under FOIA or the Privacy Act.

VA Form 21P-527EZ — Application for Veterans Pension

Used by wartime veterans applying for VA pension benefits.

Why This Matters

VA forms change over time, sometimes in small ways and sometimes in ways that affect instructions, required fields, formatting, expiration dates, or submission guidance. Even when the form name stays the same, using the latest version can help reduce avoidable friction in the claims process.

For VCH users, this means the platform is continuing to track and refresh the forms that matter most to day-to-day VA claims work, including:

• Intent-to-file workflows
• Lay and witness statements
• Statements in support of claim
• Individual Unemployability claims
• Supplemental Claims
• FOIA and Privacy Act records requests
• Veterans pension applications

Keeping VA Claims Work Moving

VCH is designed to make VA claims work faster, cleaner, and easier to manage. Keeping form templates current is one small but important part of that mission.

This update helps ensure that accredited representatives, agents, attorneys, and support staff can continue creating key VA forms with confidence inside VCH.

🚀 Affordable Nexus Letters for VA Claims: A Resource for Veteran Representatives

If you’re helping veterans navigate disability claims, you already know how critical strong medical evidence is, especially when it comes to Nexus Letters.

Recently, we came across a service that may be worth exploring for your workflow:

👉 View Nexus Letter Service

Disclaimer: VCH is not affiliated with this provider. This is simply a shared resource for veteran representatives looking for additional options.

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💡 Why Nexus Letters Matter

A well-written Nexus Letter can be the difference between approval and denial. It helps establish the connection between a veteran’s condition and their military service while meeting the VA standard of “at least as likely as not.”

For many firms, the challenge is not understanding their importance. The challenge is finding:

• Affordable providers
• Reliable turnaround times
• Consistent quality

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🔍 Featured Resource: U.S. Elite Medical Services

U.S. Elite Medical Services offers a streamlined approach to Nexus Letters that may appeal to smaller firms and solo accredited representatives.

💼 Affordable & Transparent Pricing

They offer one Nexus Letter for $250, which is significantly lower than many traditional providers.

📈 Reported Results

They advertise an 80% approval rate, aiming to help representatives build stronger, evidence-backed claims.

🩺 Medical Expertise

Their team includes board-certified physicians, including Dr. David Rose, a former military physician with experience supporting veteran cases.

⚖️ Built for Legal Workflows

The service is positioned for collaboration with legal teams and focuses on:

• Medical expertise
• Structured documentation
• Evidence aligned with VA standards

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🧠 How This Fits Into Your VCH Workflow

If you are using VCH, this type of service could complement your process:

1. Generate your C-File AI Analysis
2. Identify gaps in medical evidence
3. Use external providers like this one to obtain Nexus Letters when needed
4. Upload and manage everything within VCH

This approach can help you:

• Move faster on claims
• Strengthen evidence packages
• Improve client outcomes

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🧩 Final Thoughts

There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to Nexus Letters. Every firm has different standards, budgets, and preferences.

Having more options, especially affordable ones, can be valuable as you grow your practice.

If you explore this provider, make sure to do your own due diligence and confirm it aligns with your firm’s standards and compliance requirements.