Warren: Some Contractors Providing Inadequate Medical Exams for Veterans
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has written to Denis R. McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to voice her concerns about “disturbing reports of inadequate and unprofessional treatment of Massachusetts veterans by private vendors during Department of Veterans Affairs compensation and pension examinations.”
Warren said that while using private vendors to conduct medical exams, including those tied to disability claims, did decrease the exam backlog, she wrote, “My office has received multiple complaints and concerns about the quality of the contracted exams conducted in Massachusetts and across the country.”
Contracted examiners are accused of failing to review service treatment records of veterans before their appointments; shredding medical questionnaires that could have been used as evidence if added to veterans’ medical files; and telling veterans to meet them for exams outside of medical facilities, “including co-working offices, broom closets, and hotel rooms.”
“My office has heard numerous heart-breaking reports from veterans who described the financial hardship and emotional pain and stress that they endured when they experienced a denial or a slow-moving appeal in cases where their exam was inadequate,” Warren’s letter said. “These veterans would have been spared such hardship if the contracted exam was conducted correctly the first time.”
Warren’s office sent the letter to McDonough on April 24.
Coming This Summer: The Paralympics in Paris
With the Paris Games less than three months away, it’s time to start our Paralympics watch.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) site is the most comprehensive, with information on not just the upcoming 2024 Games, but the Milano Cortina Games (2026) and the Los Angeles Games (2028). Follow the top athletes from around the world as they qualify for Paris.
The IPC site is also a great primer for learning about this summer’s Paralympic sports: para archery, para athletics, para badminton, blind football, boccia, para canoe, para cycling, para equestrian, goalball, para judo, para powerlifting, para rowing, shooting para sport, para swimming, para table tennis, para taekwondo, para triathlon, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair rugby, and wheelchair tennis.
Closer to home, follow American qualifying events via the United States Olympic and Paralympic website, or the NBC website.
Canadian fans can keep up on the latest news via Canada’s Paralympic Committee website, or by checking the websites dedicated to their favorite Paralympic sports, such as wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby.
The Paris Paralympics will take place Aug. 28-Sept. 8.
