VA to Cut Up to 35K Health Care Jobs

The country's biggest government-run health system is about to shrink for the second time this year—mostly on paper, but with real-world worries attached. The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to wipe out up to 35,000 health care positions this month, largely vacant jobs for doctors, nurses, and support staff, according to an internal memo, congressional aides, and VA staffers who spoke to the Washington Post. The move follows an earlier overhaul that saw nearly 30,000 VA employees depart this year through buyouts and attrition after leadership abandoned a proposal for mass firings under pressure from lawmakers.

The goal, according to documents obtained by the Post, is to push the Veterans Health Administration's workforce down to about 372,000 employees, roughly 10% below last year's level. VA spokesperson Pete Kasperowicz said about 26,400 of the positions being cut are unfilled "COVID-era roles" that have gone vacant for more than a year and are "no longer necessary," insisting the move will not affect patient care. But VA staffers and union officials say the system is already struggling with high demand and long wait times amid the backdrop of a countrywide health worker shortage, and they fear the cancellations will lock in chronic understaffing.

The timing comes as VA Secretary Douglas A. Collins is also expected to scale back the network of 18 regional offices that oversee hospitals and clinics, with critics arguing that trimming "top-heavy" administration will free resources for front-line care. The VA expanded rapidly under the Biden administration after passage of the PACT Act, which brought more veterans into the system, especially those exposed to toxic burn pits. By contrast, Trump administration officials have pushed for a smaller VA workforce and more reliance on private-sector care, a shift some former appointees still support. See the full story at the Post. In other VA news, Democrat lawmakers are raising concerns that the VA is compiling a list of non-citizens "employed or affiliated with" the agency and sharing it with immigration authorities, the Guardian reports.