IAVA Statement on Reports of VA Eliminating Up to 35,000 Health Care Positions 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 
December 16, 2025
CONTACT: Lou Elliott-Cysewski 
(425) 599-5570 | press@iava.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Reporting indicates the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plans to eliminate up to 35,000 health care positions, primarily by deleting currently vacant clinical and support roles. VA has said these changes should not affect care delivery. 

“IAVA sees a real risk to care quality and access if VA shrinks its hiring capacity while demand for veteran health care keeps rising,” said Dr. Kyleanne Hunter, CEO of IAVA. “A vacancy is not an opportunity to shrink the size of the VA health care workforce, or to push veterans out of VA direct care. These vacancies do not necessarily show a lack of demand but are a signal that the system cannot recruit and retain fast enough to meet the needs of the veterans it serves. Deleting the positions does not solve existing access problems.” 

Veterans receive care through a system designed specifically for their post-military needs. VA clinicians are trained to understand deployment stress, toxic exposure, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, moral injury, and how these experiences impact health over time. VA’s strength lies in its integrated ecosystem where care, training, and research continually support each other, leading to better outcomes, safety, and coordination. When that system weakens, coordination deteriorates, training pathways become narrower, research ability declines, and veterans feel the effects at the point of care. 

“I have seen this firsthand,” Dr. Hunter said. “The VA screens for service-related risks that civilian and private providers rarely, if ever, think to screen for. My own rare eye cancer was discovered because a VA provider knew it was a risk tied to my service as a pilot. VA clinicians also screen young women for breast cancer earlier than many civilian settings because toxic exposure changes risk in ways that are not routinely recognized outside the veteran population. Many of us are alive only because of the VA’s expertise in treating veterans.” 

“I am a VA patient,” said Elliott-Cysewski, VP of External Affairs at IAVA. “I spent years in community care because I assumed it would be better. It was not. I faced repeated billing issues and paperwork failures, including a provider who would not submit required documents and would not respond to VA outreach. My appointments were rushed and impersonal. When I returned to VA, the difference was immediately palpable. My provider took the time to understand the full picture, including how my health and life experiences relate to my service. I felt truly cared for. Joining IAVA confirmed I am not the only veteran who has gone through this. We hear similar stories every day from veterans trying to navigate community care and get the care they earned. That is what veterans deserve.” 

IAVA is pressing VA leadership, including the Secretary’s office and VA Central Office, and urging congressional oversight through the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees to require transparency and oversight before any broad position deletions proceed. VA should publish a facility by facility impact analysis showing which roles are being eliminated, where, and the projected effect on appointment availability, specialty care, mental health capacity, and frontline workload. 

The wait time lesson is not theoretical. When capacity falls behind demand, veterans wait longer, staff burn out faster, and turnover accelerates. Reducing hiring capacity in a system already struggling to fill critical roles increases the risk that veterans see longer delays for care. 

This report coincides with significant changes in how VA purchases and manages community care. VA has announced a reorganization of community care contracting that reduces the number of regions from five to two as it prepares for the next generation of contracts. IAVA supports community care when it improves access and outcomes. However, we are concerned about a future where VA capacity is reduced, and veterans are pushed out of VA because staffing cannot keep up. 

Veterans deserve timely access, high-quality care, and straight answers. IAVA calls on the VA to be transparent about staffing changes and looks forward to working with the VA to ensure the needs of the post-9/11 generation are met. 

About IAVA 
IAVA stands at the center of people, policy, and institutions to ensure that the lived experience of post-9/11 veterans is heard, measured, and acted on. We turn the experiences of post-9/11 veterans into evidence, use that evidence to shape policy, and work with institutions that serve veterans to ensure that policies become real in veterans’ lives. By convening veterans, researchers, and decision-makers, IAVA drives the changes needed to ensure America serves the newest generation of veterans. 

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