Government Watchdog: VA Hasn’t Acted on 28 Recommendations
In the summer of 2026, the Government Accountability Office sent a report addressed to VA Secretary Doug Collins. That report includes the following. “Since 2010, we and others have found that VA has faced longstanding challenges overseeing its vast health care system to provide quality and timely access to health care for veterans. “
Government Watchdog: VA Hasn’t Acted on 28 Recommendations
The Government Accountability Office, or GAO, has identified a list of 30 GAO recommendations requiring urgent attention to change this. But according to a May 2026 GAO report, the Doug Collins-led Department of Veterans Affairs has addressed exactly TWO of them. Is this what Collins calls “putting veterans first” as he promised in the earliest days of his tenure as VA Secretary?
The oversight report, designated GAO-26-108978 and publicly released on May 22, 2026, outlines systemic challenges at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
GAO Priority Open Recommendations
The GAO’s “priority open recommendations“ given to the VA represent issues that demand immediate attention, but addressing only two of the whopping 30 priority areas leaves many wondering how the VA can maintain its overall “recommendation implementation rate“ of 88 percent.
The GAO has issued 30 VA-related priority directives into three major operational areas. Those areas are healthcare access and quality, information technology modernization, and acquisition management.
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VA Delays Ongoing
Auditors noted that delayed appointments and administrative backlogs continue to plague VA operations across the country. The GAO recommends oversight improvements for VA programs such as the Veterans Community Care Program, which allows qualifying veterans to receive medical care from private providers.
The GAO recommends this because of past oversight gaps in community care that have led to care delays and inconsistent monitoring of care standards.
Information technology modernization constitutes the second major focus area. The department operates complex technology infrastructure designed to handle medical records, education benefits, and disability compensation claims. GAO reports a need for stronger VA management over major software programs, including the initially botched and ongoing-at-press-time transition to a modernized electronic health record system.
Acquisition management is the third major category in the GAO audit. Department procurement practices have remained on the high-risk list since 2019 due to persistent weaknesses in Department of Veterans Affairs contract oversight, supply chain management, and workforce planning.
The Government Accountability Office Assessment
The GAO report from which all this information comes was submitted directly to Department of Veterans Affairs leadership as part of an annual tracking process initiated by GAO in 2015. It was addressed to VA Secretary Doug Collins directly and contains the following recommendation:
“The purpose of this letter is to call your personal attention to three areas where open recommendations to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) should be given high priority.” (Emphasis ours.)
In January 2026, we reported that, on a government-wide basis, 77 percent of our recommendations made 5 years ago were implemented.
VA’s recommendation implementation rate was 88 percent. As of May 7, 2026, VA has 217 open recommendations, including 30 priority recommendations. Since our May 2025 letter, VA implemented two priority recommendations. Fully implementing the remaining open priority recommendations could significantly improve VA’s operation.”
Do You Need to Lodge a Complaint Against the VA?
If you are concerned by the Department of Veterans Affairs’ inaction on these issues, or if you need to lodge a complaint against the VA, the following resources can help. Not all of them are suitable for complaints about the VA’s specific action on the policies mentioned above, but all of them are specifically for appropriate complaints and requests for assistance:
- Fraud, Waste, Abuse, or Mismanagement: Submit a formal report through the VA Office of Inspector General Online Complaint Form or call the OIG hotline at 800-488-8244. The OIG does not handle individual benefit claims or billing disputes.
- VA Health Care or Hospital Concerns: Contact a VA Patient Advocate at your local VA medical center to review local facility or community care issues. For general healthcare questions, call the VA health benefits hotline at 877-222-8387.
- Disability or Benefit Claims Status: Call the VA benefits hotline at 800-827-1000
- Civil Rights Discrimination: File an external discrimination complaint through the VA Office of Resolution Management or call 888-566-3982 within 180 days of the incident.
>> Frustrated with your VA disability rating? Register for a free consultation for help with increasing your rating to get the compensation you deserve.
About the author
Editor-in-Chief Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter/editor for Air Force Television News and the Pentagon Channel. His freelance work includes contract work for Motorola, VALoans.com, and Credit Karma. He is co-founder of Dim Art House in Springfield, Illinois, and spends his non-writing time as an abstract painter, independent publisher, and occasional filmmaker.
