VA Staffing Cuts in 2025 Raise Concerns Healthcare Access

In 2025, multiple news sources and internal watchdogs reported on the severity of staffing reductions at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and in particular the impact of staffing reductions on care for veterans. The VA's Inspector General found that severe occupational staffing shortages jumped 50% in a single year, with 94% of facilities reporting severe physician shortages and 79% reporting severe nurse shortages. Separately, a New York Times analysis found the VA chose not to fill roughly 14,400 vacant medical positions — including 1,500 physician and 4,900 nurse slots — though 73% of those roles had been actively filled as recently as 2025 or 2026. When offers for nurse or doctor positions are made, ProPublica found that nearly 4 in 10 doctors offered jobs in early 2025 turned them down — quadruple the prior year's rejection rate — many citing instability and low morale. A February 2026 VA OIG advisory memo raised concerns about veterans accessing care, reporting for example that nearly 1 million veteran call attempts to medical specialty clinics were not tracked, and that many veterans were unable to make contact with the VA in order to schedule medical visits.