San Diego
Military News

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says more than 250,000 veterans have newly enrolled in VA healthcare so far in 2026, according to a press release from the agency. VA credits an outreach effort aimed at veterans who are not yet enrolled in VA care and benefits.

According to the release, those new enrollees have completed or scheduled more than 1.4 million medical appointments in 2026, including more than 300,000 mental health appointments and more than 12,000 emergency care visits.

VA Secretary Doug Collins said in the release that the agency is focused on cutting wait times and backlogs and expanding direct and community care. VA also reported opening 41 new health care clinics since January 2025, a claimed disability-claims backlog reduction of more than 70% since Jan. 20, 2025, and an average disability claims processing time down 46% over the same period. The agency says it completed a record 82,083,918 direct care appointments and 59,989,662 community care appointments in fiscal year 2025.

VA also says it plans to spend nearly $5 billion in fiscal year 2026 on facility modernization and repair, which it describes as the largest non-recurring maintenance investment in the department's history. The release states VA permanently housed 51,936 homeless veterans nationwide in fiscal year 2025.

These figures are national totals reported by VA itself; the release does not break out enrollment, appointment or housing numbers specific to San Diego or the VA San Diego Healthcare System. Veterans here who want to check their own enrollment status, wait times or eligibility can call VA at 800-698-2411 or visit the department's website, according to the release.

This report is based on a VA press release; San Diego Military News has not independently verified the underlying figures.