House subcommittee faults VA community care oversight as contractors, providers debate fixes

Chairwoman Miller Meeks convened a House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health oversight hearing on VA community care on Oct. 12, 2025, focusing on delays in referrals, gaps in medical‑record exchange, and weaknesses in contractor oversight. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) told the panel that longstanding problems persist despite prior recommendations, while VA officials and third‑party administrators described steps underway and defended their performance.

The hearing followed GAO and OIG reviews that, committee members were told, show inconsistent scheduling, incomplete tracking of network adequacy and unresolved audit recommendations. “Veterans should never have to fight through a maze of bureaucracy to get the healthcare they deserve,” Chairwoman Miller Meeks said in opening remarks, citing veteran reports of canceled appointments, delayed referrals and missed authorizations.

Why it matters: Community care now accounts for roughly 40% of VA patient encounters nationwide, witnesses said, and VA is on track to obligate about $42 billion on community referrals in fiscal 2025. Lawmakers and auditors said that scale makes effective oversight essential to ensure timely, coordinated and high‑quality care for veterans.

Most important facts

- GAO witness Sharon Silas told the subcommittee that GAO has made 27 recommendations since 2018 to improve the Veterans Community Care Program; as of February 2025, 17 of those recommendations remained open. Silas warned that VA still lacks a standard that measures when a…