Veterans and advocates in western Massachusetts are concerned about potential federal cuts, including a proposal they say would strain a VA system already experiencing plenty of issues.
Earlier this year, reports surfaced that significant job cuts could be coming to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
According to the Associated Press, more than 80,000 positions could be affected, part of a reorganization effort aiming to bring staff levels down to 2019 numbers, despite a recent influx of veterans seeking treatment.
The apparent reductions were detailed in a March memo sent to department officials. Cuts on that scale haven't happened, yet – but given what could be coming down the line and cuts that have already happened, concerns are mounting and adding strain in the veteran care community.
Eric Segundo, director of Veterans Services in Ludlow, says it's being felt acutely at the Outpatient VA Clinic in Springfield.
“… once the new administration took over, several doctors who were there have either retired or transferred … as it was explained to me, for whatever reason, with the budget cuts that were coming forward,” he said Tuesday, during a roundtable event discussing such issues. “One [doctor] that was being hired withdrew their application to be there, so currently, there are only two PCP doctors working out of the outpatient clinic in Springfield to serve thousands of veterans.”
Segundo helps lead what's essentially become a regional resource center, helping veterans in 37 communities with food services, VA claim assistance and more.
The center hosted Tuesday’s roundtable, featuring Congressman Richard Neal of the 1st district, other local officials, and at least two dozen veterans and care providers.
"This has not been thought out"
Neal didn’t mince words when it came to cuts coming to the VA, as well as a federal edict to have remote staff work in offices – even if there isn’t space or access for them.
“We are all, I think, necessarily alarmed by these cuts that have been proposed. You can say ‘Well, we’re not cutting veterans services’ – when you close an office, you’re cutting veterans’ services,” Neal said to the room. “If it’s consolidation, let’s hear the argument, but the idea that thousands of people are now being threatened by being let go, where you have to use a FOB in some federal offices that no longer works to get you into the offices…”
“Let me just say this – and this has nothing to do with politics, it’s got everything to do with policy – this has not been thought out,” he added.
According to Neal's office, the VA has already cut about 2,400 employees, affecting facilities across the country like the Springfield Vet Center in West Springfield.
Now, with more cuts on the horizon, Segundo and others are alarmed services could be further reduced and outsourced to contractors and community care – alternatives that have been leaving some veterans feeling short-changed well before the current administration.
Among them is Vietnam veteran John Hurley. A Marine Corps vet, Hurley says his previous doctor retired, leading to his annual physical kept being pushed off for nearly two years. He says it culminated in a telehealth appointment with a nurse in Boston he says was less than thorough.
“… she checked my medicine, she says ‘Are you having problems with your medicine?’ ‘No,’ I said. ‘Everything Ok?’ ‘No, my feet are killing me.’ ‘Oh, are you seeing someone for that?’ I said I did.” he recounted. “‘Oh, we’ll look into that... Ok, everything’s fine.’ Ten minutes: that was my annual physical.”
Low morale among VA volunteers, fear among some veterans
Sharing similar concerns was Scott Hirons, a retired Navy veteran in Ludlow who volunteers as a driver with the VA. Hirons says morale is low among volunteers – who are vital to driving vets across the Valley to and from appointments and more. He also now finds himself driving long stretches to fill gaps and demand.
“We’re seeing more and more cancelled appointments because the doctors aren’t there, we’re a little worried that our cars are going to get taken away,” he said. “They’re saying they’re going to have to cut back on the funding which means, instead of keeping the government vehicle that I drive over here, at the Wilbraham Post Office, they want me to bring it up to Leeds (Northampton VA Medical Center) and drive from Ludlow to Leeds every day to start my day, to drive veterans around… we’re losing volunteers because of the overall morale at the VA.”
Since volunteers can sometimes be the only means some vets have for transportation, Hirons adds he also uses his personal car, helping individuals like a 95-year-old veteran in Springfield to simply get groceries.
On top of that, there are also fears among veterans who are also part of the LGBTQ+ community, says Steve Connor, Director of the Central Hampshire Veterans’ Services Office.
“… and I’ve had two veterans who needed VA heallthcare, needed gender-affirming care within the last two months - two of them, both, are now homeless because they are so afraid of the VA knowing that their transgender, because they think somebody’s going to take them and deport them,” Connor said. “I mean, that’s how much fear there is.”
Drastic potential cuts despite increase in demand
As Neal and others emphasized, if the reported VA cuts being floated happen, they would come on the heels of VA services being greatly expanded as part of the PACT Act, passed in 2022, helping cover veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances.
Within two years, the VA says it saw almost 740,000 veterans enrolled in VA healthcare: a 33% increase over the previous two-year period. That includes 333,000 enrollees from what the VA calls the "PACT Act population(s)," vets from the Vietnam and Gulf Wars, plus Post-9/11 Veterans.
The VA reached its “highest-ever service levels” this past year, hitting “over 9 million enrollees” and 127.5 million appointments being delivered, the Associated Press reports.
The aforementioned memo, from the VA Chief of Staff and dated March 4th, says the VA plans to publish its “Reorganization Plan” in June.
