Jan 22, 2026
Veterans who served in the U.S. military and earned health care benefits say they’re now fighting to keep them.
Demonstrations erupted over plans by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to eliminate roughly 25,000 positions. In San Francisco, veterans and health care workers gathered outside a VA hospital to protest what they're calling a broken promise.
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"It's a betrayal of the promise made to American veterans," Mark Smith, hospital worker and union president, told CBS News Bay Area in a clip posted Jan. 14 (1). "And we won't stand for it."
The stakes extend beyond the veteran community. When the nation's largest integrated health care system cuts jobs, the consequences could ripple through local health facilities already struggling with capacity — potentially affecting access to care, quality, wait times and costs for all Americans.
What's being cut
In December, VA announced a "reorganization" of the Veterans Health Administration. Part of the plan is to eliminate about 25,000 vacant positions, according to VA press secretary Pete Kasperowicz, who confirmed the news with multiple news outlets. Most would be "COVID-era roles that are no longer necessary," he noted.
"All of these positions are unfilled and most have not been filled for more than a year, underscoring how they are no longer needed," Kasperowicz told CNN (2).
The broadcaster reports the positions include primary care doctors and nurses, mental health providers and social workers. The vast majority of VA employees are health care professionals and support staff.
Early last year, the VA planned to lay off roughly 80,000 from a total staff of about 470,000, according to CNN. But it pulled back in July, announcing it aimed to shed nearly 30,000 jobs by the end of fiscal year 2025 through early retirements and a federal hiring freeze.
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Why it's cause for alarm
The VA operates the largest integrated health care system in the United States, serving more than 9.1 million enrolled veterans across 1,380 facilities.
And enrollment has been climbing. In 2024, the VA enrolled more than 401,000 new veterans — a 30% increase over the previous year — largely due to the PACT Act expanding eligibility for veterans exposed to toxins during service.
Yet even before planned cuts, the system was struggling. In August, a VA inspector general report found severe staffing shortages had worsened by 50% compared to fiscal year 2024. It found 94% of VA facilities faced severe doctor shortages, while 79% faced severe nurse shortages.
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John Kelley, a VA nurse, fears the government's reasoning for the cuts — that the positions have been open for so long they're no longer necessary — is simply self-justification. He argues that reduced staff makes it harder to get appointments, so patients give up trying.
"You don't have the staff to see them," Kelley told CBS Bay Area. "You're only going to see what you can see that day. But what you don't know is there's thousands of vets at home who need to come in."
The ripple effect on all Americans
Some veterans suspect the cuts are setting the stage for privatization. The VA already outsources care via the Veterans Community Care Program, allowing qualified patients to pursue private options in the hopes of gaining quicker access to health care.
Between 2014 and 2024, expenses for community care quadrupled from $8 billion to $31 billion, — a third of the VA's health care budget — according to the Washington Monthly (3).
If even more veterans are pushed into private hospitals due to VA staffing shortages, it will not only add strain to those facilities but could also increase wait times, ultimately impacting the quality and cost of care. Both veterans and citizens may pay the price.
U.S. congressman Chris Deluzio, an Iraq veteran, spoke bluntly at a Capitol Hill event, per NPR: "Our veterans need and have earned fully funded and staffed VA hospitals and clinics. It's simple. If our VA needs to hire more doctors, nurses — you name it — to meet the health care needs of our veterans, you ought to be hiring them, not slashing their positions (4)."
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
CBS News Bay Area (1); CNN (2); Washington Monthly (3); NPR (4)
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With a writing and editing career spanning over 13 years, Emma creates and refines content across a broad spectrum of industries, including personal finance, lifestyle, travel, health & wellness, real estate, beauty & fitness and B2B/SaaS/tech. Her versatility comes through contributions to high-profile clients like Moneywise, Healthline, Narcity and Bob Vila, producing content that informs and engages, along with helping book authors tell their stories.
