MARKEY: PROBE BOSTON VA
Cites ‘troubling’ Herald brain injury report
U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey is calling on the head of the Veterans Administration to probe the Boston VA and how it handles brain injury claims, citing a Herald special report that highlighted alarming error rates and a local Marine whose brain mass was overlooked by agency doctors.
In a letter delivered yesterday to U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin, Markey demands action and calls the implications of the Herald report on vets with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) “troubling.”
“I call on you to ensure that the VA ... launches a comprehensive investigation of how those working within the Boston Veterans Affairs Regional Office diagnose, treat, and process claims arising out of TBI or other health conditions related to the brain health of veterans,” Markey wrote to Shulkin.
The Herald reported last week that the VA’s inspector general delivered scathing reports of the Boston VA’s handling of traumatic brain injury claims in 2011 and 2015, and is working on another review to be issued next year.
The 2015 inspection found an “unacceptable” error rate in assessing the degree of disability in traumatic brain injury (TBI) claims — one in six of the cases reviewed that year. This was despite a warning four years earlier to add more oversight and safeguards.
In 2011, the Boston VA Regional Office was found to have incorrectly processed 11 of 30 TBI claims randomly selected for review, or 37 percent. The rate had improved to 5 of 30 reviewed cases in 2015, but was still condemned by the VA’s inspector general.
The Boston VA says it has resolved all of the issues. But Markey wants assurances that Shulkin “fully implements the recommendations of the Inspector General reports,” and that treatment is provided “with only the best interests of veterans’ health in mind.”
The Herald also reported on Dracut Marine Brian Callahan, who had a mass on his brain brought to his attention by a doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital that the Boston VA never told him about in six years of treating him. The VA told the Herald it has no record of the mass being detected on Callahan.
Markey tells Shulkin to specifically address “any harm that may have been caused by the failure to diagnose the mass” in Callahan.
“I was deeply disturbed to learn of this Veteran’s experience,” said Markey, who also requested a personal briefing with Shulkin.
Boston VA spokeswoman Pallas Wahl said the system “places the highest priority on identifying disease, notifying patients and providing a continuum of highquality care to Veterans.”
“We welcome the inquiry from the Senator and look forward to working with his office in support of our Veterans,” Wahl said in a statement.
Referencing Callahan, she added, “We have provided outreach to the Veterans family to learn what their experience has been; areas in which we can improve and offer assistance in navigating coordinated care going forward. As Veterans receive care in the community and throughout the VA, we remain committed to collaborative care to better serve the needs of our Veterans.”
A spokeswoman for the VA in Washington, D.C., confirmed receiving Markey’s letter yesterday, and said that a response will be sent to his office.
Markey is the second member of the Bay State delegation to call publicly for action after the Herald series. U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, a former Marine officer, has called for the House Veterans Affairs Committee to “fully examine” the issues outlined in the inspector general reports on the Boston VA, concerned they could extend nationwide.
Last year, the House committee held a hearing on VA practices on TBI, and requested the VA inspector general thoroughly investigate exams for TBI claims.
A spokeswoman for the committee told the Herald it expects to receive findings “in the near future.”
Veterans Assisting Veterans, a Lowell-based vets organization, called out Markey — as well as U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas — on Sunday for not reaching out to Callahan in the wake of the Herald stories. The vet has since received calls from Markey’s and Tsongas’ offices.