The federal government is planning deep cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and that choice will hurt Dallas residents.
First, the city’s more than 40,000 veterans will suffer as services are scaled back. Fewer doctors. Longer wait times. Less access to critical programs like mental health care and cancer treatment. The VA North Texas Health Care System, anchored by the Dallas VA Medical Center, serves over 235,000 veterans and is already straining to meet demand. Early rounds of layoffs have already hit our region. If the full proposed 80,000-person reduction moves forward, the VA in Dallas could lose over 1,000 medical and support staffers.
Second, local taxpayers will end up footing the bill. When veterans can’t access VA care, they don’t disappear. They show up at Parkland. Or in jail. Or on the streets.
Let’s start with Parkland. It’s our public safety-net hospital, funded by Dallas County property taxes. Veterans who are denied or delayed VA care often end up in Parkland’s emergency room with untreated diabetes, PTSD or addiction. And here’s the catch: many of them don’t have any other insurance. In Texas, roughly 10% of veterans have no private health insurance. That’s the second-highest uninsured rate for veterans in the country. The VA is their primary, and often only, provider. When it fails, the cost doesn’t vanish. It shifts to local taxpayers.
Parkland already delivers more than $1.4 billion in unpaid care annually. Dallas property owners contribute hundreds of millions in taxes just to keep it afloat. If even a small share of our uninsured veterans lose access to VA services and start relying on Parkland, that burden will rise quickly.
Hidden Costs
There are other large hidden costs. Cuts to VA care increase the risk of homelessness, substance abuse, and suicide. Studies show that stable healthcare access is one of the biggest predictors of whether a veteran will stay housed, employed, and out of crisis. Every appointment denied or delayed isn’t just a broken promise. Rather, it’s a potential public safety issue, a shelter bed filled, or a 911 call. Dallas ends up bearing the downstream costs of federal neglect.Supporters of these cuts claim they’re about eliminating bureaucracy. But that doesn’t square with reality. The VA is now treating more veterans than ever - over 9 million nationally - and recent expansions like the PACT Act brought tens of thousands of new enrollees into the North Texas system. Slashing the budget now would be like gutting the fire department during wildfire season.
This is not a partisan issue. Dallas has always taken pride in supporting its veterans. But support means more than flag-waving; it means making sure the federal government keeps its promises. When it doesn’t, we all pay, some with money and others with their lives.
If the federal government abandons veterans, it will be breaking sacred promises with our heroes and sticking Dallas with the bill.
