A record level of federal spending through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Community Care Program injected more than $36 billion into local healthcare systems across the nation during fiscal year 2025, underscoring the growing role of community-based medical providers in caring for America’s veterans. The funding not only expanded healthcare options for millions of former service members but also provided a significant economic boost to hospitals, physician practices and rural healthcare networks that increasingly rely on federal reimbursement to sustain operations.
The announcement reflects the continued expansion of the Veterans Community Care Program, created under the bipartisan VA MISSION Act signed into law in 2018. The program allows eligible veterans to receive medical treatment from authorized non-VA healthcare providers at government expense when certain eligibility requirements are met, including long travel distances, extended wait times or when specialized services are unavailable through the VA healthcare system.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Community Care Program has grown into the nation’s fourth-largest healthcare payer, supporting medical services for more than 8.62 million enrolled veterans while directing billions of federal dollars into communities across the country.
Texas received the largest share of Community Care payments during fiscal year 2025 at approximately $3.3 billion, followed by Florida with $2.8 billion and California with $2.1 billion. North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia and Arizona rounded out the ten states receiving the highest levels of funding, each benefiting from between $1 billion and $1.5 billion in payments.
Notably absent from that list was Oregon.
While veterans across Oregon continue to receive healthcare through the Veterans Community Care Program when eligible, the state did not rank among the nation’s top recipients of Community Care funding. The Department of Veterans Affairs did not identify Oregon as one of the leading beneficiaries of the more than $36 billion distributed nationwide, highlighting the significant disparity between states with large veteran populations and extensive community healthcare networks and those receiving comparatively smaller shares of federal reimbursement.
The figures also reflect differences in veteran population, healthcare infrastructure, geographic distribution and utilization of Community Care services. Larger states with extensive veteran populations generally generate substantially higher reimbursement totals because of greater demand for medical services delivered outside VA facilities.
For rural healthcare providers nationwide, Community Care funding has become increasingly important. Many rural hospitals and independent medical practices operate on extremely narrow financial margins, and federal reimbursement from programs such as Community Care, Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE often represents a substantial source of operating revenue. In many communities, those payments help preserve access to healthcare not only for veterans but also for the general public by supporting facilities that might otherwise struggle financially.
Congress further expanded veterans’ healthcare choice through the bipartisan Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, enacted in 2025. The legislation strengthened veterans’ ability to receive care from community providers by requiring the VA to honor referrals when both the veteran and referring clinician determine that community-based treatment represents the most appropriate medical option. Veterans may also qualify for Community Care when travel times or appointment wait times exceed federal standards or when specific medical services are unavailable within the VA healthcare system.
Despite the growing emphasis on Community Care, VA officials emphasized that direct care delivered within VA facilities continues to represent the largest component of the department’s healthcare mission. During fiscal year 2025, the department spent a record $101 billion providing care directly through its own hospitals and clinics while completing more than 82 million medical appointments, representing a 4.1 percent increase over the previous fiscal year.
The announcement also highlighted several broader developments within the Department of Veterans Affairs over the past year. Since January 2025, the department has opened 36 new healthcare clinics nationwide, expanded appointment availability during evenings and weekends, enrolled more than 180,000 additional veterans into VA healthcare, and significantly reduced the backlog of pending disability benefit claims. Officials also announced plans to invest nearly $5 billion during fiscal year 2026 in facility modernization and infrastructure improvements, the largest non-recurring maintenance investment in the department’s history.
Housing assistance has also remained a major focus. The VA reported permanently housing nearly 52,000 homeless veterans during fiscal year 2025, the highest annual total recorded in seven years.
As demand for veteran healthcare continues to increase with an aging veteran population and expanded eligibility for services, Community Care is expected to remain a central component of the nation’s veterans’ healthcare system. Although Oregon was not among the states receiving the largest share of Community Care funding in fiscal year 2025, eligible veterans throughout the state continue to have access to the program when they meet federal requirements, ensuring that care remains available both within VA facilities and through participating community healthcare providers when medically appropriate.