Letters

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.), Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas), the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, and Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, released the following letter they sent to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Inspector General Michael Missal. The letter addresses allegations that a Tomah, Wisconsin VA Medical Center (VAMC) neurologist provided incomplete disability exams to hundreds of veterans over an 18-year period.   

“We question whether these deficiencies are limited to the Tomah VAMC neurologist, or whether these findings indicate a possible systemic failure in the VA’s ability to provide veterans with adequate traumatic brain injury (TBI) disability exams and conduct effective quality review of such exams,” the Chairmen wrote in their letter.

The Tomah VAMC is located in Rep. Van Orden’s district, and he uses the facility to receive his healthcare. As such, Chairman Van Orden released the following statement in response to the allegations.

“As a service-connected disabled veteran, who gets his healthcare at the Tomah VA, the concerns raised regarding Dr. Lanska are deeply troubling. Our veterans who have been injured in the line of duty must receive the benefits to which they are entitled, but unless their injuries are properly documented this will never happen. My colleagues and I on the VA Committee have an excellent relationship with the medical center in Tomah, and will continue to work in good faith with them until we fix this problem. Our vets will always come first, end of story,” said Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity Chairman Van Orden.

Full text of the letter the Chairmen sent can be found here and below:

Dear Inspector General Missal:

The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs has received concerning information regarding a Tomah VA Medical Center (VAMC) neurologist who may have provided veterans with incomplete compensation and pension (C&P) exams between 2002 and 2020.

The Department has already substantiated, in part, allegations that some veterans did not receive sufficient C&P exams conducted by Dr. Mary Jo Lanska, a provider employed by the Tomah VAMC.  During a briefing on April 19, 2023, VA officials confirmed that after an initial review of 72 C&P exams completed by Dr. Lanska, 22 exams were incomplete, and the impacted veterans may be eligible for a re-examination.

Inspector General Missal, these are troublesome findings. An incomplete disability exam can result in a veteran being denied, or losing entitlement to, their earned benefits. Therefore, I request your office conduct a thorough and detailed investigation of the above allegations and provide your findings to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

Furthermore, it is unacceptable that VA identified these errors almost three years after the provider stopped completing C&P exams, and only after these concerns were brought forward publicly. We question whether these deficiencies are limited to the Tomah VAMC neurologist, or whether these findings indicate a possible systemic failure in the VA’s ability to provide veterans with adequate traumatic brain injury (TBI) disability exams and conduct effective quality review of such exams.

We therefore ask that you also conduct a broader review of the accuracy and sufficiency of TBI disability exams and medical opinions completed by VA providers and contracted examiners.

Sincerely,

MIKE BOST

Chairman

MORGAN LUTTRELL

Chairman

Subcommittee on Disability Assistance And Memorial Affairs

DERRICK VAN ORDEN

Chairman

Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity

[end]