Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins is proposing significant changes to the Department of Veterans Affairs, including a potential reduction of up to 80,000 jobs, as part of a broader plan to increase efficiency and focus on the agency’s core mission.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it is beginning early-stage planning to deploy the Federal Electronic Health Record (EHR) system to four Michigan facilities – Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, Detroit, and Saginaw – in mid-2026.
This decision comes after VA made critical improvements to the EHR system during a pause in deployments announced in April 2023, which has helped the system better serve Veterans and clinicians – and resulted in improved Veteran trust at all sites that use the EHR. These improvement efforts will continue unabated while VA begins early-stage deployment efforts in Michigan.
An additional 16 million veterans are now eligible to use the Defense Department’s discount travel site, under an expansion announced today by DoD’s American Forces Travel and Priceline.
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Veterans Benefits Banking Program (VBBP) reached a new milestone with more than 50,000 Veterans having switched to receiving their monetary benefits through direct deposit.
VBBP was created in partnership with the Association of Military Banks of America (AMBA) and works with the Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) to leverage their combined consortium of military-friendly, federally insured financial institutions to help Veterans acquire a secure bank account.
WASHINGTON — Today the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it has reached an agreement with TriWest Health Care Alliance (TriWest) on a one-year extension of its current coverage of the Patient-Centered Community Care (PC3) and Veterans Choice Program (VCP).
The department also announced that it has reached an agreement with TriWest that will expand TriWest’s services to all regions across the country under this program.
The expansion of TriWest’s role will ensure access to community care where needed until the next generation of community care contracts are
WASHINGTON — Today the U.S. Department of Veterans (VA) announced that it is prioritizing Veterans benefits appeals claims, effective Nov. 1, for victims in the Northern Mariana Islands who have been impacted by Super Typhoon Yutu.
VA’s Board of Veterans’ Appeals has determined that the significant effects of Super Typhoon Yutu were sufficient cause for the Board to advance the appeals for the Northern Mariana Islands municipalities determined to be disaster areas by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“During this season of intense weather systems, VA is continually assessing how we can best support our Veterans as they recover from natural disasters,” VA Secretary Wilkie said. “Just as it did with hurricanes Florence and Michael, VA’s Board of Veterans’ Appeals is prioritizing the
The U.S. Secretaries of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Defense (DOD) signed a joint statement Sept. 26 pledging that their two departments will align their plans, strategies and structures as they roll out a new electronic health records (EHR) system that will allow VA and DOD to share patient data seamlessly.
Signed by Defense Secretary James N. Mattis and VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, the joint statement reinforces both departments’ commitment to ensuring the successful transition from a legacy patient-data system to a modernized one that will continue to support active-duty service members, Veterans and their families.
“The joint statement between DOD and VA represents tangible evidence of our commitment to change how we deliver Veteran-focused, provider-friendly care,” Wilkie said. “The new EHR system will be interoperable with DOD, while also improving VA’s ability to collaborate and share information with community care providers. This will ease the burden on Service members as they transition from military careers and will be supported by multiple medical providers throughout their lives.”