Understaffed VA Cutting 35,000 More Health Jobs

The Veterans Administration plans to cut 35,000 health care-related positions this month, despite critical shortages of staff. From Reuters:

"The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs plans to eliminate as many as 35,000 health care positions this month, the Washington Post reported on Saturday, citing an internal memo, Veterans Affairs staffers and congressional aides.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.

The cuts involve mostly unfilled jobs including doctors, nurses and support staff, the report said.

The agency hopes that the cuts will reduce the health care workforce to as little as 372,000 employees, a 10% reduction from last year, the report added, citing a memo shared with regional leaders last month. [snip]

The cuts come after the agency cut about 30,000 jobs in July, making two-thirds fewer employee cuts this fiscal year than it first targeted."  (our emphasis)

If veterans thought the VA's health care services were inadequate before these cuts, they are in for a rude surprise soon, thanks to the anti-veteran administration of Cadet Bone Spurs. Those combined 65,000 cuts for an agency that is chronically understaffed will be devastating to people who have served this nation honorably and to whom we owe so much, most of all the best health care we can offer: not waiting lists, overworked doctors and nurses, and a false promise of care.

(photo: Veterans Administration)