Staffing shortages at VA health systems are on the rise, watchdog finds
In the report, out Tuesday, the VA's Office of Inspector General, or OIG, found Veterans Health Administration facilities reported 4,434 staffing shortages this fiscal year, which is a 50% increase from fiscal year 2024.
Almost all — 94% — of facilities reported severe shortages for medical officers, while 79% of facilities reported severe shortages for nurses, according to the report.
The report's data comes from questionnaires sent to 139 VHA facilities, comparing 2025 responses to 2018-2024 responses. The 2025 questionnaires were distributed via email on March 26 with a required completion date of April 9. Data on staffing shortages at VA facilities has been collected annually for over a decade, and the report notes that this is the eighth report to identify severe occupational staffing shortages at the facility level.
The report notes that the OIG did not independently verify VHA data for accuracy or completeness. It also says that due to the timing of the questionnaire, any impact on staffing from OPM's Deferred Resignation Program and VA's workforce reshaping efforts — which are expected to lead to further staffing shortages — were not fully reflected.
In response to the report, Pete Kasperowicz, press secretary for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, said it is "not based on actual VA health care facility vacancies and therefore is not a reliable indicator of staffing shortages."
"The report simply lists occupations facilities feel are difficult for which to recruit and retain, so the results are completely subjective, not standardized and unreliable," he said in an emailed statement to CBS News on Wednesday. "VA's department-wide vacancy rates for doctors and nurses are 14% and 10%, respectively. These are lower than most other health care systems, in line with normal VA historical averages and much lower than the respective 19% and 20% physician and nurse vacancy rates VA saw at times during the Biden Administration."
CBS News has reached out to the OIG's office seeking a response to Kasperowicz's statement.
Others criticized the Trump administration after the findings.
Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, said, "Under this administration, we've seen policy after policy that makes it harder for public servants to do their jobs and ultimately harder for veterans to get the care they've earned."
"We also know from recent jobs reports that applications to work at the VA are plummeting. How do skyrocketing staffing shortages and declining applicant pools make it more 'efficient' for veterans to access the care and services they deserve? The answer is: they don't," Warner said in a statement. "If the administration is serious about honoring our veterans, it needs to stop undermining the VA workforce and start recruiting and retaining the skilled professionals who care for our heroes."
Among the VHA facilities surveyed this year, at least 20% reported severe staffing shortages for more than 40 occupations — marking the highest number of job shortages reported since 2018, according to the report.
Severe staffing shortages were also reported for psychologists at 57% of VHA facilities. For non-clinical positions, the highest reported shortage was for police officers, which about 58% of facilities reported.
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