Poll: Majority of veterans say access to care at VA is "difficult"

The common perception of most veterans about the difficulty of accessing VA care, many of whom have personally used the VA system, confirms that the department is failing to meet the medical needs of many of those it is designed to serve. At the same time, that is not the belief or experience of all veterans, with three in 10 saying it is easy to get access to medical care through the VA.

Veterans’ perceptions of VA medical access seems to be colored by their political leanings. Military veterans who identify politically as Democrats are significantly more likely to say it is easy to get medical care from the VA (40%) than Republican veterans (23%), with independents falling in between (33%). Democrats may perceive conditions as better given that a Democrat is president.

There are not significant regional differences in the perceived ease or difficulty of accessing VA care, suggesting the perceived difficulties are more a system-wide issue than one confined mostly to VA centers in particular parts of the U.S.