The Department of Veterans Affairs is facing "severe" staffing shortages at its hospitals, with many struggling to fill jobs for doctors, nurses and psychologists, according to a new report from the agency's independent watchdog.
The report from the VA's Office of Inspector General, released on Tuesday, said Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities reported 4,434 "severe occupational staffing shortages" in the 2025 fiscal year — a 50 percent increase from the 2024 fiscal year.
The report is based on surveys taken at 139 VHA facilities from late March to early April.
Why It Matters
The VHA is the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States, providing care to millions of veterans each year.
The surveys that the report was based on were taken after it was reported that the VA planned to cut 80,000 jobs — out of roughly 484,000 — through the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. The VA later reduced that figure to nearly 30,000 jobs cuts by the end of the fiscal year.
Veteran Affairs Secretary Doug Collins said that staff cuts would not affect care, but the report's findings raise concerns about a lack of essential healthcare staff in VA facilities.
What To Know
The report found that nearly all of the facilities (94 percent) surveyed reported a shortage of medical officer occupations including doctors, while 79 percent reported shortages of nurses. But the report noted that severe shortages for medical officers and nurses have been identified every year since 2014.
The report also said that at least 20 percent of facilities identified severe staffing shortages for 43 occupations overall, the highest number since 2018.
Psychology was the "most frequently reported clinical occupational staffing shortage," with 57 percent of facilities reporting a lack of staff.
The top reported shortage for non-clinical positions was for police officers, with 58 percent of facilities reporting it.
Pete Kasperowicz, the VA's press secretary, said in a statement that the report was "not a reliable indicator of staffing shortages."
But Representative Mark Takano, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, said the report confirms fears that the VA is facing staffing shortages leading to "decreased access and choice for veterans."
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What People Are Saying
Kasperowicz, the VA's press secretary, said in a statement: "The report simply lists occupations facilities feel are difficult for which to recruit and retain, so the results are completely subjective, not standardized and unreliable."
Takano said that the report "confirms our fears: VA and veterans are worse off under Doug Collins's leadership. Instead of making VA an employer of choice, Secretary Collins continues to vilify the VA workforce and strip them of their rights. Now, VA is facing critical staffing shortages across the country, leading to decreased access and choice for veterans. Veterans deserve and have earned better."
What Happens Next
Further staffing shortages are expected as the department continues to reduce staff through hiring freezes, deferred resignations, retirements and attrition by the end of the fiscal year.
Meanwhile, ProPublica reported last week that veterans hospitals are struggling to replace the doctors and nurses who have left the healthcare system this year. Records show that almost 40 percent of doctors offered jobs from January through March turned them down.
