Grassley and Bipartisan Senators Advocate for Veterans by Pushing for C&P Exam Improvements

Grassley and Bipartisan Senators Advocate for Veterans by Pushing for C&P Exam Improvements

VA has increasingly assigned benefits exams to contractors, forcing some veterans to travel long distances and struggle to receive service

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today led a bipartisan letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) demanding answers on the steps it is taking to ensure veterans' access to quality, timely compensation and pension examinations (C&P exams) amid allegations contracted services and insufficient federal oversight have negatively impacted veterans. Joining Grassley are Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.).

"[T]he overall management and oversight of VA vendors that provide C&P exams must improve. As the department relies more on contracted examiners, it should also remain committed to ensuring that veterans are properly looked after," the senators wrote.

"The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, requires the department to provide oversight of C&P exams and to apply standards of timeliness and quality performance for [Veterans Health Administration] examiners and your contracted vendors. It also requires a mechanism for veterans, such as the ones described in this correspondence, to lodge complaints with the [Veterans Benefits Administration] to provide for a resolution to the unnecessary barriers put in front of our veterans. As we await the report from the department, our concerns for veterans persist," they concluded.

Grassley and his colleagues cited the following reported issues riddling C&P exam processes:

• VHA examiners are operating under limited capacity. A Jasper County, Iowa veteran said the VA expected him to travel 97 miles one way for a C&P exam rather than see a provider in nearby Des Moines.

• Contracted vendors are mismanaging appointments. A contractor assigned a Rindge, New Hampshire veteran to an appointment in Maine. When the veteran explained he couldn't attend appointments there, the contractor suspended his claim.

• Contracted vendors are not maintaining their facilities. The VA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found some contractor facilities are noncompliant with the Americans Disabilities Act, as well as Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards.

• The VA is not conducting proper oversight of contracted employees. The VBA said it cannot verify subcontracts into which exam vendors enter. While the VA must at minimum verify the contractors, the VA OIG found the department has not complied with contractor vetting requirements.

Read the full letter HERE.

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