The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and outpatient clinics located throughout the country.

Non-healthcare benefits include disability compensation, vocational rehabilitation, education assistance, home loans, and life insurance.

[3][4] As of June 2020,[update] the VA employed 412,892 people[5] at hundreds of Veterans Affairs medical facilities, clinics, benefits offices, and cemeteries.

[13] The very next day, President Abraham Lincoln vouched for the mission of the future facilities in his second inaugural address: With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.The middle section of that quote would later form the guiding principle for the future Department of Veterans Affairs.

[14] While domiciliary care for Civil War veterans was managed by the National Home system at 11 various campuses, the pension benefits was split amongst various agencies in the federal government.

Since domiciliary care was available at all state veterans homes, incidental medical and hospital treatment was provided for all injuries and diseases, whether or not of service origin.

The United States' entrance into World War I in 1917 caused a massive increase in veterans, overwhelming the federal system.

When the Republican nominee for president Warren G. Harding accepted his party's nomination to the 1920 presidential election, he issued a promise to the more than four million Americans who served in the war: It is not only a duty, it is a privilege to see that the sacrifices made shall be requited, and that those still suffering from casualties and disabilities shall be abundantly aided and restored to the highest capabilities of citizenship and enjoyment.At the time of the election, dissatisfaction with the benefits programs for World War I veterans ran rampant throughout the country.

To receive benefits, veterans had to navigate through three different federal agencies: the Bureau of War Risk Insurance (BWRI) for insurance and compensation, the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) for medical and hospital care, and the Federal Board for Vocational Education for rehabilitation, education, and job training.

Veterans from previous conflicts continued to rely on the Bureau of Pensions and National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Service for their compensation and medical care respectively.

[18] In 1922,[19] it gained a large number of veterans' hospital facilities from the Public Health Service, most of which had been recently established on former U.S. Army bases.

It was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on October 25, 1988, but came into effect under the term of his successor, George H. W. Bush, on March 15, 1989.

The reform period of 1995 to 2000 saw the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) dramatically improve care access, quality, and efficiency.

[30] Congress and President Barack Obama extended the new GI Bill in August 2009 at a cost of roughly $70 billion over the next decade.

On May 30, 2014, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki resigned from office due to the fallout from the scandal,[35] saying he could not explain the lack of integrity among some leaders in VA healthcare facilities.

In September 2017, the VA declared its intent to abolish a 1960s conflict of interest rule prohibiting employees from owning stock in, performing service for, or doing any work at for-profit colleges; arguing that, for example, the rule prohibits VA doctors from teaching veterans at for-profit universities with special advantages for veterans.

[38]In 2023, the VA adopted a new mission statement: “To fulfill President Lincoln's promise to care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors.” The VA's previous mission statement, established in 1959, was, “To fulfill President Lincoln's promise ‘to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan’ by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's veterans.”[39] The VA's primary function is to support veterans in their time after service by providing benefits and support.

[44] On March 27, 2020, the VA made public its COVID-19 response plan within its medical facilities to protect veterans, their families, and staff.

CWA has held summits and forums for female veterans and created social media campaigns and exhibits to highlight women's military service.

[66] The VA categorizes veterans into eight priority groups and several additional subgroups, based on factors such as service-connected disabilities, and their income and assets (adjusted to local cost of living).

[67] Veterans with a 50% or higher service-connected disability as determined by a VA regional office "rating board" (e.g., losing a limb in battle, PTSD, etc.)

[68] Veterans with lesser qualifying factors who exceed a pre-defined income threshold have to make co-payments for care for non-service-connected ailments and prescription medication.

[citation needed] Reservists and National Guard personnel who served stateside in peacetime settings or have no service-related disabilities generally do not qualify for VA health benefits.

[70] In December 2004, it was widely reported that VA's funding crisis had become so severe that it could no longer provide disability ratings to veterans in a timely fashion.

The VA's backlog of pending disability claims under review (a process known as "adjudication") peaked at 421,000 in 2001, and bottomed out at 254,000 in 2003, but crept back up to 340,000 in 2005.

They also predicted that medical and disability costs would ultimately total between $600 billion and $1 trillion for the hundreds of thousands treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

[74] In a 2015 Center for Effective Government analysis of 15 federal agencies which receive the most Freedom of Information Act (United States) (FOIA) requests (using 2012 and 2013 data, the most recent years available), the VA earned a D by scoring 64 out of a possible 100 points, i.e. did not earn a satisfactory overall grade, for facilitating FOIA requests.