VA Doctors Warn: Cuts and Privatization Could Harm Veterans’ Care

Nearly 170 doctors, psychologists, and health professionals who have worked in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are sounding the alarm about policies they say are putting veterans’ healthcare at risk.

In a letter delivered Wednesday to Congress, VA Secretary Doug Collins, and the VA’s inspector general, the group raised “urgent concerns” that staffing cuts and aggressive moves toward privatization are undermining the very system designed to serve America’s veterans.

The signers — including 69 active VA physicians as well as former VA doctors, researchers, and therapists — called their statement the “Lincoln Declaration,” invoking President Abraham Lincoln’s promise to care for those who have “borne the battle.” Many signed anonymously out of fear of retaliation, but they say the stakes are too high to stay silent.

“We have witnessed these ongoing harms and can provide evidence and testimony of their impacts,” the letter states.

What’s at Risk

The doctors warn that if current trends continue, VA hospitals and clinics could be forced to close, leaving veterans to rely on costlier, often overloaded private healthcare systems that are not equipped to handle the unique needs of former service members.

Among their concerns:

• Severe staffing shortages: Thousands of mission-critical VA doctors, nurses, and mental health providers have left since Trump’s second term began. Entire hospital units have shut down, and backlogs in testing and appointments have grown.

• Privatization pressures: A surge in outsourcing veterans’ care to community providers diverts resources from the VA’s integrated system. While framed as “choice,” the doctors say it risks dismantling the very care network that understands veterans best.

• Cuts to direct care: Even as the VA budget increases overall, critics note $12 billion is being pulled from the public VA healthcare system while funding for private-sector care has jumped by 50%.

An inspector general’s report in August confirmed “severe” staffing shortages across every VA hospital nationwide.

Why It Matters to Veterans

Doctors emphasize that the VA consistently delivers better outcomes for veterans than private care. Studies included in the physicians’ appendix show:

• Lower suicide rates among veterans treated at VA facilities compared with private providers.

• Lower mortality rates for veterans on dialysis under VA care.

• An 80% cure rate for veterans with hepatitis C when treated through VA programs.

These are more than statistics — they reflect years of specialized experience with the physical and mental health conditions tied to military service, from PTSD and TBI to cancers caused by toxic exposure.

Dr. Dean Winslow, a retired Air Force colonel who served six deployments and now practices at the Palo Alto VA, said bluntly:

“The VA is an excellent integrated system that provides state-of-the-art healthcare to veterans and is worth fighting for.”

Dr. Lucile Burgo-Black, who supervises Yale medical residents at the West Haven VA, worries veterans could lose that system entirely:

“This has reached a point where we will spiral down.”

The Bigger Picture

This letter is part of what whistleblower attorneys call an unprecedented wave of federal employee protests under the Trump administration. Doctors, scientists, and staff at agencies from the EPA to FEMA have also filed mass complaints about policy decisions they say put public health and safety at risk.

The VA, however, carries special weight: it treats more than 9 million veterans at 170 medical centers and over 1,000 outpatient clinics. For many veterans, it is not just healthcare — it is the fulfillment of a national promise.

Kyleanne Hunter, CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, voiced her group’s support for the doctors:

“The VA was designed as a public health institution placing the veteran at the center of care. That care is a promise America makes when someone raises their right hand. It’s a recruitment tool as much as it’s an earned right. We must do everything we can to maintain that promise.”

Surveys from IAVA highlight the stakes: only 31% of veterans believe private doctors understand their needs, and just 14% are confident that VA and private providers can coordinate care effectively.

VA’s Response

The VA says veterans are being served better now than before, pointing to new infrastructure investments and faster access to community providers. Press secretary Peter Kasperowicz said:

“VA is serving veterans much better under the Trump administration than it was under the Biden administration, and the numbers prove it.”

Still, the physicians behind the “Lincoln Declaration” argue that dismantling the VA’s core system in favor of outsourcing will ultimately betray veterans. Their message is clear: without action, America could lose the very institution created to honor Lincoln’s promise — to care for those who served.