VA Benefits Update: Trump Official Reveals Changes to Impact Overall Care
Summary
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is changing how it measures health care performance, focusing more on the quality of care rather than just wait times. Under President Trump, the VA has increased both community care appointments with private providers and direct care appointments at VA facilities, while also reducing disability claims processing times.Key Facts
- The VA Secretary Doug Collins announced a shift from measuring wait times to focusing on care quality.
- In fiscal year 2025, nearly 60 million community care appointments happened, a 12% increase from the previous year.
- Community care lets eligible veterans get treatment from private providers paid for by the VA.
- Direct-care appointments at VA facilities reached a record of over 82 million, up 4.1% from the previous year.
- The VA processed over 3 million disability claims in fiscal year 2026, the highest ever recorded.
- Average disability claims processing time dropped from 141.5 days in January 2025 to 75.6 days in September 2025.
- The VA expanded access by offering more than 3 million appointments outside normal hours, including evenings and weekends.
- The VA has opened dozens of new health care facilities since January 2025.
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