WASHINGTON – As the Department of Veterans Affairs last week announced a nationwide search for new leaders to oversee its health and benefits systems, veterans around the country said they hoped the new leaders would make meaningful reform so they get better health care.
After 20 years in the Army special forces, Dan Pogue started another battle, trying to navigate the time consuming and cumbersome VA healthcare system. He said, “It’s still a struggle though because it’s big government run so it’s full of all kinds of bureaucracy things that take way longer than they should.”
Like many other veterans, Rick Howell, an Army veteran of 26 years, wants the new leaders to streamline and improve health care. “Hopefully they’re going in the direction of finding people that want to come into work and actually face-to-face and be customer service oriented.”
But some experts expressed skepticism given the deep cuts Trump has made in staffing at the VA.
“I think they’re spending more time trying to destroy the VA than find people to run it,” said Suzanne Gordon, senior policy analyst at Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute.
The search for new leadership came after Trump deeply cut the agency’s staff and claimed “redirecting hundreds of millions from non-mission-critical efforts to health care, benefits and services that directly support VA beneficiaries,” according to a VA press release.
Gordon criticized the Trump administration’s approach to restructuring the VA, particularly downsizing. “There’s been hiring freezes. Huge attacks on VA staff and unions under the Trump administration,” Gordon said. “If you fire everybody and cut 20% of the workforce, it’s not going to solve the problem. It’s going to make it worse.”
She outlined goals for the new leadership, “It’s the largest health care system in the country, and one of the most complex,” she said. “Because it’s supervised by Congress, the person has to have a lot of political skill and a lot of clinical understanding, not only of medicine and mental health, but what we call social determinants of health like poverty and employment.”
On February 13, the VA dismissed 1,000 employees, which was projected to save $98 million annually. The Trump administration claimed the savings would be redirected to VA healthcare, benefits and services, according to the VA. And on February 24, the department also dismissed 1,400 probationary employees. They said $83 million saved would go directly to VA beneficiaries.
Veterans described their firsthand experiences with the VA health care system, which they said shed light on problems new leadership must address. Pogue, after retiring in 2022, now lives in rural Missouri, and quickly learned the frustrations of limited access to care living in a rural area. At his local VA clinic, Pogue can only see a primary care provider. Specialist care requires referrals that take between two weeks and two months, often in towns hours away.
“For example, like my back, which is one of the things I was medically retired from the military, I have had to like, obviously they don’t have any doctors here locally at the VA clinic that can be seen by,” Pogue said. “So it’s referral to outside clinics, and in my case it’s at a town an hour south of me, which is an hour and a half south of where my primary clinic is at.”
Pogue added that issues are difficult to resolve because when he calls various help lines, he receives automated responses. And with increasing recruitment numbers across the armed services, he worried the number of veterans over the years will rise, making this a growing issue.
“The VA, while yes I am grateful they are providing this health care for me for the rest of my life based on my service and they are helping me out based on my service-related conditions,” Pogue said.
Howell spent most of his 26 year career serving in jump status for airborne operations, meaning he was on call to jump out of planes. He retired in Vicenza, Italy and did not use VA care until nearly a decade after retiring, when he visited a clinic in Virginia. “When you retire overseas, you don’t really get much of an education on ‘Hey, here’s what the VA can do for you,’” Howell said.
He saw both progress and persistent issues in the system. “I think what they’re trying to do is cut the redundancy out of some of the systems,” Howell said. “But they have been very slow with everything for me, nonresponsive, people not answering the phone.”
Gordon pointed out that this was not unique to the VA. “VA has shorter wait times than the private sector,” she said. “Unfortunately, America doesn’t produce enough mental health professionals and primary care doctors and specialty doctors to answer the demand.”
Brian Seidl, who served ??21 years in the Army, retired in 2024 following rapid-onset autoimmune inflammatory arthritis. Post retirement, he moved frequently throughout the country for work, relying on the traveling veteran program before securing a primary care provider.
“During my medical retirement, I had a VA [Veteran Service Officer] that worked with the Wounded Warrior Foundation and ensured I was set up for success with all VA benefits prior to my retirement,” Seidl recalled. “Absolutely no lapse in pay on the VA side; I highly recommend that everyone works with a VSO while still on active duty.”
The referral process, however, has been challenging. “I had the hand surgeon request surgery on my left wrist in October 2024 only to find out my referral expired, and I had to start the process over,” he said. “Anything not specified in the referral takes a very long time if a surgeon has to request approval from the VA.”
Still, he’s grateful for the care he’s received. “The best thing is that we’ve had $0 out-of-pocket cost for multiple X-rays, CT scans, and total joint replacements. I’ve also received a mobility scooter and a lot of help from OT specialists.”
Though Seidl said several improvements were needed. Community care hold times were lengthy, he averages 40 minutes per call. He added that administrative tasks like monthly compensation and back pay should be processed more efficiently. And, since every type of care requires a referral, which is currently set at six months, Seidl wishes the VA would extend it to 12 months.
Seidl said it took two to three months just to begin care under a six month referral for severe wrist damage, delaying surgery and ultimately causing his referral to expire before a second wrist procedure could be scheduled, forcing him to restart the entire process. “A 12 month referral would have allowed me to get both wrists replaced on a single referral,” he said.
Another Army veteran of eight years, who asked to remain anonymous, expressed gratitude for the consistency of care across VA facilities due to frequent moves. “The kind of access and consistency is something I don’t take for granted,” he said.
Looking forward, he suggested the system needs streamlining, better communication among providers, quicker response times, and accountability for workers. “Veterans deserve to feel like their care actually matters,” he said.
Jesus Ramirez, who retired from the Army with 100% disability, said the services during procedures have been “outstanding.” But delays in scheduling care persist. “For example, right now, the frustrating part with them is my dental, they’re at capacity so the VA has to send me out of the VA system,” he said.
While many veterans remain grateful for the care they receive, they’re also calling for leaders who will enact meaningful reform.
But for Gordon, trust in that promise is fading. “I think they’re spending more time trying to destroy the VA than find people to run it,” she said. “And what do you call cutting federal jobs, many of which are held by veterans and disabled veterans? That’s not investing in America.”
The VA Deputy Secretary is tasked with recommending candidates to lead the Veterans Health Administration and Veterans Benefits Administration. The search is currently underway, with applications open to eligible U.S. citizens on USAJobs.gov from Monday, April 14, 2025, through Friday, April 25, 2025.
Another version published in partnership with Military.com.