VA Cuts Could Disrupt Services for Local Veterans, Officials Warn

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The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said on April 3 it will end a mortgage-rescue program that helped veterans falling behind on their mortgage payments keep their homes. The move comes amidst the department’s plans to cut 80,000 employees and a federal hiring freeze that is slowing health care staffing at Veteran Affairs (VA) facilities.

Stephen Walsh, Sullivan County’s Director of Veterans Service Agency, said the staffing shortages have created a wait time of six months to one year for veterans in Sullivan County seeking mental health therapy.

“Many of the veterans that I serve have only VA medical insurance and they can only get care within that system,” said Walsh, a disabled veteran himself. “I’m highly concerned for them and their families.”

On average, 17.6 veterans die by suicide each day, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs data.

In 2022, more veterans became eligible for VA benefits after former President Biden signed into law the PACT Act . The new law expanded VA healthcare for veterans with toxic exposures and for veterans of the Vietnam War, Gulf War, and post-9/11 era.

“With proposed cuts of tens of thousands of more employees and many veterans coming forward for benefits, it seems that it’s gonna be difficult to provide those services,” said Walsh. More than 30% of VA employees are disabled veterans, according to federal personnel data.

Federal hiring freeze strains existing service issues

Concerns about the federal impact of VA hiring freezes and proposed cuts are growing, as veterans are already facing delays due to existing service disruptions.

During the April 3 Sullivan County legislature committee meeting, Walsh explained that the closure of the Acute Care Clinic at the Castle Point VA Medical Center has forced veterans to seek care at the VA Montrose Campus instead.

The Castle Point location was a 21-bed facility that provided 24-hour emergency care, including addiction treatment and suicide and crisis counseling, according to the Veteran’s Director report.

While the Castle Point VA Medical Center closed before the current Trump administration came into office, the report noted that it will remain closed for months “while staffing requirements are being reviewed.”

Additionally, the VA’s implementation to process claims and other veteran-related issues using AI has created information discrepancies in veterans’ claims, according to Walsh.

In December 2023, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs published an AI execution plan to operationalize AI at the federal level. This included plans to use AI for benefits claim processing, clinical diagnostic and treatment support, and suicide or other violence prediction and risk assessment. Since its implementation at the county-level, Walsh said it has created “widespread issues causing unusually high error rate with decisions.”

“Unfortunately, it is very difficult for the forms of AI that are implemented currently to properly discern handwritten medical records and other private information,” Walsh told Radio Catskill.

For now, Walsh is working with local Health and Human services departments to expand community care vendors so that veterans can seek healthcare with community providers when the VA cannot provide the care needed.

“Benefits extended to veterans, from disability to medical benefits, are contractual and they’re earned. They’re not in any way a gift. It is a contract between the veteran and the federal government. As long as that is the truth, I think we need to continue the best care possible,” said Walsh.

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