The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is reporting its strongest federal hospital quality ratings since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services first began evaluating VA medical facilities under its national star-rating system in 2023, marking another significant development in the ongoing debate over the quality, accessibility, and future direction of veteran healthcare in America.
According to new data released this week by the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, 78 percent of VA hospitals that received an Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating earned either four or five stars in the latest CMS annual report. Federal officials say that figure represents the highest performance level achieved by the VA system since the rankings began.
The report also showed that nearly 15 percent of all hospitals nationwide receiving a five-star designation were operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, a notable benchmark for a healthcare system that has spent years under intense national scrutiny over wait times, staffing shortages, access to specialty care, and administrative backlogs.
The latest numbers continue a four-year trend in which VA hospitals have reportedly outperformed many non-VA facilities in overall federal quality measurements. Federal officials also emphasized that, for the second consecutive year, no VA hospital received a one-star rating, something agency leaders described as evidence of sustained operational improvement across the system.
The annual CMS star ratings are based on a range of measurements that evaluate hospital performance, including patient safety, mortality rates, readmission rates, effectiveness of care, patient experience, and timeliness of treatment. The scoring system has increasingly become one of the primary national benchmarks used to compare hospitals across the United States.
VA Secretary Doug Collins credited the improvements to ongoing reforms and operational changes implemented during the Trump Administration, arguing that the federal healthcare system serving veterans has undergone measurable improvements in both access and quality of care.
“The Trump Administration has a proven track record of improving Veterans’ care, and these ratings underscore that success,” Collins said.
The new report arrives as veteran healthcare remains a politically sensitive issue nationwide, particularly as the country continues to address aging veteran populations, increasing mental health demands, housing instability among former service members, and continued pressure on federal healthcare systems following years of inflation and workforce shortages affecting hospitals across the country.
Federal officials also highlighted several additional performance metrics that the administration says demonstrate broader progress within the VA system over the past year.
Among those figures, the VA reported enrolling more than 140,000 new veterans into VA healthcare programs during 2026 while simultaneously opening 35 new healthcare facilities nationwide since January 2025. Officials say the expansion was designed to improve accessibility for veterans living in underserved rural and suburban areas where travel distances to care have historically posed major obstacles.
The department also stated that the backlog of veterans waiting for benefits processing has been reduced by 70 percent since January 2025. That figure comes after the VA previously acknowledged a significant rise in pending claims during the Biden Administration, when backlogs increased amid staffing shortages and an influx of new claims tied to expanded eligibility under the PACT Act and other federal veteran programs.
Healthcare utilization across the VA system also continued climbing throughout the past fiscal year. According to the department, more than 82 million direct-care appointments were completed during Fiscal Year 2025, representing a 4.1 percent increase over the previous year.
Officials additionally pointed to expanded scheduling flexibility as another area of focus, noting that veterans were offered more than 2.5 million appointments outside normal operating hours in an effort to reduce delays and provide greater convenience for working families and rural veterans who often struggle with transportation and scheduling conflicts.
Housing assistance for homeless veterans also remained a major component of the department’s public messaging surrounding the latest report. The VA announced that nearly 52,000 homeless veterans were permanently housed nationwide during Fiscal Year 2025, the highest total recorded in seven years.
While supporters of the VA’s recent performance improvements argue the numbers demonstrate meaningful progress inside one of the nation’s largest healthcare systems, critics continue to caution that nationwide averages do not always reflect conditions experienced at individual facilities. Veteran advocacy organizations have repeatedly noted that staffing shortages, specialty care access, and rural healthcare disparities remain ongoing concerns in several regions of the country.
Still, the newest federal ratings provide the VA with one of its strongest statistical performances in recent years and are likely to become a major talking point as veteran healthcare policy continues shaping national political discussions ahead of the next federal election cycle.
For millions of veterans across the United States, the latest report represents more than just a set of numbers. It reflects an ongoing national effort to determine whether the country is truly improving the care promised to the men and women who served in uniform.