Veterans

Private care for veterans

59 public statements from 2026 candidates

§1The range of views

Why this matters: This affects how quickly and how close to home veterans get care, and how the VA splits its budget between its own hospitals and private providers.

Drafted by AI, then checked for neutral wording in a separate AI review. It describes the question and the main positions, not any candidate's view. Facts link to their sources.

When veterans can get care from private doctors paid for by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which the VA allows when its own care is too far away or takes too long, such as a drive of more than 30 minutes or a wait of more than 20 days for primary care.1

  1. Let veterans choose private doctors at the VA's expense whenever they prefer
  2. Write wait-time and drive-time limits into law, so veterans can use private care when the VA can't meet them
  3. Expand the VA's own hospitals and clinics, using private care mainly when the VA can't provide it

These options describe policies, not people. The order is not a ranking.

§2What candidates have said

Why this matters: Statements candidates made publicly, summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Candidates who haven't spoken publicly on this issue aren't listed.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Let veterans choose private doctors at the VA's expense whenever they prefer (6)

  • Christopher Dennison FL-7
    His campaign website says veterans should be able to take their benefit to any doctor they trust, close to home, instead of being kept within one government hospital system or waiting for a bureaucracy to approve care.2
  • Brian Mast FL-21
    His campaign website says he supports letting veterans choose their medical care at any time and in any place.3
  • Donald Norcross NJ-1
    His campaign website says he is committed to letting every veteran pick the provider they prefer while using their current VA coverage.4
  • Hillary Herzig NJ-6
    Under serving veterans and seniors, it lists letting veterans choose their own doctors and use local providers rather than being limited to VA care.5
  • Afzal "Bobby" Khan NV-1
    His campaign website says he wants every veteran to be able to get care from any qualified hospital or provider, not only VA facilities.6,7
  • Andrew Gerena TN Senate
    His campaign website says veterans should be free to choose their health care providers.8

Write wait-time and drive-time limits into law, so veterans can use private care when the VA can't meet them (1)

  • Michelle Fischbach MN-7
    The record page lists co-sponsoring a bill on the Veterans Community Care Program that strengthens wait time standards and reduces bureaucratic hurdles so veterans can get timely care through community providers.9

Expand the VA's own hospitals and clinics, using private care mainly when the VA can't provide it (14)

  • Amanda N. Pusczek AL-4
    Her campaign website says she opposes efforts to move veterans' care to private providers through vouchers and would build new VA outpatient clinics in rural county seats in the district.10
  • Mike Levin CA-49
    His campaign website says he has fought against efforts to privatize the VA.11
  • Eileen Laubacher CO-4
    Her campaign website says she would stop the privatization of the VA and expand VA partnerships, mobile clinics and telehealth.12
  • Jason Crow CO-6
    His campaign website says he will fight attempts to privatize the VA.13
  • Angie Nixon FL Senate special
    Her campaign website says she opposes privatizing VA services and wants to expand the VA's own facilities, including a full VA medical center in Jacksonville.14
  • Shawn Harris GA-14
    His campaign website says he would oppose the push to privatize veterans’ health care, stop arbitrary VA budget cuts and expand local care for rural veterans.15
  • Lauren Jewett LA-1
    Her campaign website says she will adequately resource the VA and push back against efforts to privatize it.16
  • Ilhan Omar MN-5
    It says she opposes privatizing the Veterans Affairs health care system and wants more funding for veterans' physical and mental health care.17
  • Erik Osberg MN-7
    His Honoring Our Veterans priority says he wants the VA fully funded, opposes privatizing its core services and wants telehealth and community-based care expanded for veterans.18
  • Sam Forstag MT-1
    His campaign website says he would oppose efforts to privatize the VA and wants VA care to remain public, fully funded and easy to access. It also lists investing in clinics, medical staff and telehealth so veterans can get care where they need it.19
  • Dan Osborn NE Senate
    His campaign website opposes privatizing VA health care and says he will work to protect and strengthen the VA.20
  • Joe Hathaway NJ-11
    His campaign platform says he would work to expand veterans' access to timely VA health care, using community providers when necessary, and seek targeted federal funding to update and rebuild VA hospitals and clinics.21
  • Adam Hamawy NJ-12
    His campaign website says he will fight attempts to privatize or defund the Department of Veterans Affairs and wants to expand its capacity so veterans can get care close to home, rather than being pushed toward for-profit alternatives.22
  • James Talarico TX Senate
    His campaign website says he would fully fund the VA and opposes efforts to privatize it.23,24

Statements that don't match one option (38)

  • Nick Begich AK-AL
    His campaign website says he co-sponsored the Veterans' ACCESS Act of 2025, which it says would expand veterans' health care options and reduce wait times.25
  • Terri Sewell AL-7
    Her campaign website says she supported bipartisan VA reforms, including the Veterans' Access, Choice and Accountability Act, that increased transparency and allowed veterans to see private doctors.26
  • Jeff Wadlin AR Senate
    His campaign website says veterans should have more freedom to get care outside the VA when it cannot provide timely or appropriate treatment.27
  • Eric Jones CA-4
    His campaign website says the VA should be strengthened rather than dismantled, with community care filling gaps, an enforceable national standard for travel and wait times, and VA staffing minimums written into law.28,29
  • Sam Gallucci CA-26
    His campaign website says he would cut VA wait times by giving veterans access to care where they are and would expand mental health support.30
  • April A. Verlato CA-28
    Her campaign website says she wants more veterans' clinics and a major veterans' medical center in the San Gabriel Valley.31
  • Angélica María Dueñas CA-29
    Her campaign website calls for building more VA hospitals and mental health clinics and for making sure veterans can be treated at hospitals or facilities outside the VA to avoid long waits.32
  • Lauren Boebert CO-4
    Her campaign's Contract with Colorado says veterans should also have a private-sector option for their care.33
  • Brian Lambert FL-14
    His campaign website says veterans should be able to get care in their own communities when the VA is unable to treat them in a timely way.34
  • Greg Steube FL-17
    His campaign website says he has worked to widen health care choices for disabled veterans and lists the Veterans' True Choice Act, which would let service-connected disabled veterans pick TRICARE rather than VA care.35
  • Curtis Gibson FL-18
    His campaign website says veterans should have a clear route to local providers whose care is covered whenever the VA cannot offer care nearby and within a reasonable time.36
  • Phil "Felipe" Ehr FL-28
    His campaign website lists among his priorities pursuing a full VA hospital or major VA medical facility in South Dade to improve access for veterans in South Dade and Monroe County while strengthening essential services.37
  • Maura Keller GA-3
    Her campaign website says she will prioritize easier access to VA care and push coverage for rural veterans through telehealth and local clinics.38
  • Rich McCormick GA-7
    His campaign website says he has led TRICARE and VA community-care reimbursement bills focused on access to care.39
  • Matt Loesby ID Senate
    His campaign website says he would push to abolish the VA and give its budget to veterans as direct payments to spend on the medical and psychiatric care they choose.40
  • Julie Fortier IL-12
    Her campaign website says she will work to ensure that the VA is not privatized and can continue to serve the veterans it was meant to serve.41
  • William Eric Henry IN-2
    His campaign website lists expanding community health care programs for veterans, and better integrating records, billing and coding for community health care access, among his issues.42
  • Andy Barr KY Senate
    His campaign website says he moved legislation through Congress giving veterans more access to health care options outside the VA.43
  • Julia Letlow LA Senate
    Her campaign website says she would reduce VA wait times and expand veterans' access to community care.44
  • Adrian Boafo MD-5
    His campaign website says he would reduce wait times and expand specialty services at the VA, and expand community care options for women veterans when VA facilities cannot meet demand.45
  • Jack Bergman MI-1
    His campaign website says he has focused on strengthening community care for veterans, and it lists the RELIEVE Act, which it says would close a gap in VA community care and protect veterans' coverage for emergency medical treatment, among his bipartisan efforts.46
  • Tim Walberg MI-5
    His campaign website says he is working with members of both parties to make the VA more accountable and to give veterans more choices in their health care.47
  • Rebecca Whiting MN Senate
    Her campaign website says the VA should be privatized so the free market can give veterans faster access to care.48
  • Peggy Flanagan MN Senate
    Her campaign website opposes the Trump administration's efforts to cut and privatize the Department of Veterans Affairs and says the federal government should deliver veterans' care itself.49
  • DeVelle L. Jackson MN-5
    It says veterans should have enforceable standards on how soon they are seen, and care that carries over smoothly between the VA and qualified community providers.50
  • Fred Wellman MO-2
    His campaign website says he will focus on protecting Department of Veterans Affairs health care from privatization.51
  • Jordan Herrera MO-4
    His campaign website lists expanding VA health care access and strengthening community care networks for veterans.52
  • Missi Hesketh MO-7
    Her Healthcare page says she backs a three-year pilot program that would let veterans enrolled in the VA choose care from any provider in the covered care system, removing location requirements that limit access.53
  • Seth Bodnar MT Senate
    His campaign website says he would expand the VA's Community Care Network so rural veterans can see local providers, and invest in mobile VA clinics and telehealth.54
  • Paul Barringer NC-13
    His priorities page says he supports fully funding the VA while streamlining its bureaucracy, and expanding public-private partnerships to shorten waits and make care available nearer to veterans' homes.55
  • Macey Budke NE-3
    Her campaign website says she supports closer cooperation between the VA and trusted local providers, and wants veterans to be able to get community-based care promptly when it is appropriate.56
  • Mark Cohen NE-3
    His campaign website lists strengthening the VA Community Care Program, so that rural veterans can get quality care near home, among his commitments for veterans.57
  • Jeff Van Drew NJ-2
    The page says he has worked to give veterans more access to local, community-based health care options instead of relying only on the VA. It also lists a bipartisan bill he introduced, the Veterans Bill of Rights, which it says would write into law veterans' rights to timely health care, including community care, among other rights.58
  • Ryan Michael Kelly NJ-3
    His campaign website says he supports making it easier for veterans to get care outside the VA when the VA cannot treat them in a timely way.59
  • Alan B. Bond NJ-11
    His campaign story on veterans says that if the VA is unable to offer suitable care within a reasonable timeframe or location, veterans should have workable ways to get qualified care close to home.60
  • Steven "Chap" St John NV-1
    His campaign website says he would reduce delays in VA health care while protecting access to community care when timely VA care is not available.61
  • Annie Andrews SC Senate
    Her health care plan says she would strengthen the VA MISSION Act so veterans can more easily get care outside the VA when they face long waits or distances.62
  • Brian L Bengs SD Senate
    His campaign website opposes privatizing VA health care, noting that most of the VA's recent health care budget went to private contractors, and says staff shortages and cuts are delaying veterans' care.63