More money and more options for veterans

As President Donald Trump took office, spending on veteran's health care was rising, and the trend continued on his watch.

The total Veterans Affairs budget went from $183 billion in 2017 to $220 billion in 2020. The department's budget relies on a mix of discretionary and mandatory funding. Congress controls discretionary spending, and in 2017 it appropriated $67 billion. In 2020, that rose to $80 billion.

Money for medical care rose across the board, but the largest single increase was for Veterans Community Care, the program that allows veterans to see a private provider. Built upon the earlier Veterans Choice program that started in 2015, under the Obama administration, the renamed version took effect in June 2019. Between 2019 and 2020, the choice option accounted for nearly 90% of the total increase in spending on medical services by the VA.

Veterans health care analyst Carrie Farmer at the nonprofit research group RAND Corp. said Washington has provided more money.

"The only caveat that I would make is that it's not every veteran in America," Farmer said. "Only those who are eligible for VA health care."

That gap is large. Farmer says there are 21 million veterans, while just 9 million qualify to use the VA health programs. But for the group that was eligible when Trump ran for office, the options have grown.

We rate this a Promise Kept.