The Shadow
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs announced that women Veterans can now schedule appointments directly with VA gynecology providers without a referral from a primary care provider.
The new, streamlined process takes effect today and eliminates the previous requirement for a PCP referral to access VA gynecology care. Instead, enrolled women Veterans can schedule an appointment directly with a VA gynecology specialist if they choose.
The change will better serve the more than 1 million women Veterans who are enrolled in VA health care.
“This is what it looks like when VA is focused on putting Veterans first,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins. “By relentlessly focusing on customer service and convenience, we are building a department that works better for the men and women we are charged with serving.”
Today’s announcement is the latest in a long list of VA accomplishments during the second Trump Administration, including:
- The backlog of Veterans waiting for VA benefits is down 57% under the second Trump Administration, after increasing 24% during the Biden Administration.
- VA has eliminated the backlog of Veteran families waiting for VA health care.
- VA is processing record numbers of disability claims, reaching an all-time fiscal-year high of three million claims processed Sept. 30.
- VA has opened 20 new health care clinics across the nation since Jan. 20.
- Since Jan. 20, VA has offered Veterans more than 1.4 million appointments outside of normal operating hours. These early-morning, evening and weekend appointments are giving Veterans more timely and convenient options for care.
- VA permanently housed 51,936 homeless Veterans across the country in fiscal year 2025 – the highest total in seven years.
- VA is spending an additional $800 million on infrastructure improvements to ensure department facilities provide safe and effective patient care.
- The additional funds will come from savings gleaned from various VA reform efforts.
- VA has made it easier and faster for VA-enrolled Veterans to access care from non-VA providers at the department’s expense.
- VA has implemented major reforms to make it easier for survivors to get benefits, after serious problems during the Biden Administration.
- VA is accelerating the deployment of its integrated electronic health record system, after the program was nearly dormant for almost two years under the Biden Administration.
- VA partnered with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to identify and recover $106 million in duplicate billing.
- VA has brought tens of thousands of employees back to the office, where VA can work better as a team to serve Veterans.
- VA has terminated union contracts for most bargaining unit employees and redirected millions in wasteful union spending back to Veterans.
- VA ended DEI at the department, reversing the divisive Biden-era policies and stopping more than $14 million in DEI spending.
- VA is phasing out treatment for gender dysphoria. Frankly, this commonsense reform should have been done years ago.
