VA attributes record-breaking year to massive increases in hiring – By Eric Katz (Nextgov) / Nov 9, 2023
The department will now focus on retaining those employees through various incentives and process improvements, officials say.
The Biden administration is pointing to hiring surges throughout the Veterans Affairs Department for enabling a record-shattering year in delivery of health care and benefits.
VA saw veterans in 116 million appointments in fiscal 2023, up from 113 million the previous year. The department doled out $163 billion in benefits to more than 1.5 million veterans, both new records. It received 2.4 million benefit claims and processed nearly 2 million of them, both smashing records by 39% and 16%, respectively.
Officials said they were able to accomplish those goals in large part due to their successes in bringing on more staff. The Veterans Health Administration hired 61,000 new employees in fiscal 2023, said Shereef Elnahal, VA’s undersecretary for health, outpacing its goal by 17% and giving it a workforce of more than 400,000 for the first time. It grew its workforce by more than 7%, its fastest rate in 15 years. The Veterans Benefits Administration increased its rolls by more than 20%, said Joshua Jacobs, VA’s undersecretary for benefits, to more than 32,000 employees.
