Secondary C&P exam but not required to be present?

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Does anyone know why they might do this? My husband just retired in Sept after 20 and completed his C&P exams in person at Chalmers a month or so ago. He got email and paper mail notification of a second C&P exam request via QTC. It states he does not need to be travel to the appointment, looks like they’re having a second person review his files without him present. Anyone know why they would do that? Are they trying to get a less favorable opinion?

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Going to answer my own question because I think I discovered the answer. Leaving this here for anyone that has the same question in the future.

This type of C&P exam is called an ACE exam. 
 

From the VA:
“If you have enough medical evidence in your file to support your claim, we’ll follow the Acceptable Clinical Evidence (ACE) process. This means we’ll review your medical records and ask you to submit more evidence if needed, instead of asking you to have an exam.”

From an independent website:

“In addition to covering the conditions listed above, an ACE Exam may also be used in other scenarios when existing medical evidence is adequate for a clinical examiner to assess the level of impairment per the claimed condition’s Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ). This might include cases where a medical opinion is needed to determine whether a disability was incurred or aggravated in service or to assess the relationship between a claimed disability and a service-connected disability. Additionally, an ACE Exam is often used to determine if a disability incurred or aggravated by military service caused or contributed to a veteran’s death.