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Diagnosis Denied: Veterans urge the VA to recognize rare muscle disease IBM as service-related
Veterans say repeated denials are delaying care and benefits as researchers study whether military exposures raise IBM risk.
- Five veterans are pressing the Veterans Administration to recognize Inclusion Body Myositis as a presumptive service-connected condition, rejecting the current case-by-case evaluation process for the progressive muscle disease.
- After years of denials starting in 2009, Oregon veteran Greg Rathburn secured a 100% service connection on May 1, 2026; Larry Leisher waited 17 and a half years for his appeals reversed.
- Dr. Thomas Lloyd at Baylor College of Medicine found IBM shares identical molecular changes with ALS, already presumptive service-connected, while veterans diagnosed with IBM occur 6 to 19 times higher than the general population.
- Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna contacted the White House congressional liaison and plans to request a presidential executive order if Congress fails to act, while Representative Gus Bilirakis sent a letter to VA Secretary Doug Collins requesting presumptive status.
- The National Academies' comprehensive IBM study will not conclude until July 2027, though the VA is accelerating individual cases; Larry Leisher warned that change must come within five months or veterans remain in poor circumstances.
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Diagnosis Denied: Veterans urge the VA to recognize rare muscle disease IBM as service-related
Veterans fighting the muscle disease known as IBM say they want the U.S. government to recognize their condition as service-related and make it easier to get help.
·Spokane, United States
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Total News Sources16
Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center15Last UpdatedBias Distribution94% Center
Bias Distribution
- 94% of the sources are Center
94% Center
C 94%
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