Agency leaders have instructed managers across the #Veterans #Health Administration, the agency’s #healthcare arm, to identify thousands of openings that can be canceled. Employees warn that the contraction will add pressure to an already stretched system, contributing to longer wait times for care.

#Trump #Republicans #military #Veterans #VeteransAffairs #VA #service #ServiceMembers #medical #betrayal #USpol #law

The decision comes after #VeteransAffairs Secy Douglas A. Collins, under political pressure from #Congress, backed away from a plan to slash 15% of the agency’s workforce through #MassFirings. Instead, the #VA lost almost 30k employees this year from buyout offers & attrition.

The agency hopes that the cuts will reduce the #healthcare workforce to as little as 372k employees, a 10% reduction from last year, acc/to a memo shared with regional leaders last month….

#Trump #Republicans #Veterans

Details of the cuts came into focus in recent days, acc/to 17 staffers at VA & congressional aides….

The nation’s largest government-run #healthcare system has struggled to fill vacancies amid a broader national shortage of #health care workers & a strained federal workforce. Job applications to the agency have also fallen 57% from last year, acc/to the agency’s workforce report last month.

#Trump #Republicans #military #Veterans #VeteransAffairs #VA #service #betrayal #USpol #law

The reorganization comes in advance of an expected announcement next week that Collins plans to also shrink the network of 18 regional offices that administer the nation’s #VA #hospitals & #medical centers, acc/to 4 people familiar… Staff at those regional offices help determine policies & manage staffing. Collins & others have been critical of the agency’s top-heavy administrative offices, arguing that staffing cuts there will free up more resources for #healthcare.

#Trump #Veterans #betrayal

The #health system grew by tens of thousands of employees under the #Biden admin as more #veterans enrolled in #VA #healthcare after passage of the #PACTAct, which expanded benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits. Then-secretary Denis McDonough urged veterans to be seen by VA doctors rather than request referrals to private practitioners outside the system.

#Trump #Republicans #military #VeteransAffairs #service #ServiceMembers #medical #health #betrayal #USpol #law

But the #Trump admin has said it wants more #veterans to seek treatment outside the government system. Political appointees at #VA & their allies have also said they favor a leaner #healthcare workforce because they think #physicians & other #health care providers could be more productive, said one former appointee who is close to the Trump team.

#Republicans #military #Veterans #VeteransAffairs #service #ServiceMembers #medical #betrayal #USpol #law