The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced their plans last month to cut 70,000-83,000 staff members by August. Cutting 15% of their workforce would bring employment down to 2019 levels. VA Secretary Doug Collins claims these cuts won’t impact veteran care, but North Dakota veterans are still concerned about increased wait times and reduced quality. Several North Dakota veterans were interviewed by Michael Standaert, including Howard Tweeten, Rick Pinnick, Keli Berglund, Logan Heinrich, and Dave Kelsen—they all expressed concern about how staff reductions would worsen existing problems and shortages, lengthen appeal processes, and push more veterans to community care where providers may not be as experienced with issues specific to veterans, like trauma and PTSD from service. They noted the VA’s current care quality is excellent, with shorter wait times than community care (4-8 days versus 26 days for cardiology appointments) The VA expanded under the 2022 PACT act during the Biden administration, now serving 9 million veterans–its highest enrollment ever–but these cuts could undermine recent improvements.
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