House Democrats demand VA restore dedicated LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinators

Two House lawmakers are calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to restore dedicated LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinator positions and specialized support networks, following changes to the program's structure earlier this summer.

Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) said in a letter Wednesday to VA Secretary Doug Collins that recent department directives:

• Eliminated dedicated LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinator positions
• Dismantled specialized support networks
• Restricted tailored healthcare resources for LGBTQ+ veterans

The lawmakers asked the VA to:

• Reinstate dedicated coordinator positions across its healthcare systems
• Rescind restrictions on LGBTQ+ support groups and staff training
• Explain how the department will ensure veterans retain access to those support networks

Background on the Policy Changes

The letter follows two internal Veterans Health Administration (VHA) communications released this year that changed the designation of the coordinators and the national support activities around the program.

June 12 Memorandum

A memorandum from VHA Under Secretary for Health John Bartrum directed that LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinators be redesignated as "Care Coordinators." The memo stated that coordinators would facilitate healthcare and benefits for all veterans and restricted the use of VHA funds, official time, facilities, or other resources for activities promoting what it called "gender-ideology or gender-identity." It also required VHA officials to certify that activities deemed noncompliant had ended.

Discontinuation of Support Activities

According to an internal VHA email obtained by The Advocate, the program's specialized national support activities and resources were to be discontinued, including:

• Monthly coordinator calls
• Regional leadership calls
• New-coordinator orientations
• The program's community of practice
• National communications, processes, and procedures specific to the program

Dedicated Microsoft Teams channels and SharePoint resources were also to be archived.

Previous Program Structure

VHA Directive 1340, issued September 21, 2022, required VA medical facilities to designate at least one LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinator. The directive noted that the program was established in 2016 and that coordinators' duties had expanded since its inception. Those duties included:

• Helping veterans access appropriate services
• Identifying healthcare needs
• Addressing gaps or conflicts in clinical processes
• Maintaining relationships with community organizations and local resources

Current Status of Coordinator Positions

The lawmakers describe the LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinator positions as eliminated. However, the June VA memorandum states the positions were redesignated as "Care Coordinators." Publicly available documents do not establish that individuals who previously served as LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinators were removed from VA employment.

VA's current public-facing webpages use different designations for care coordinators at different facilities:

• VA Tampa (updated Aug. 24): Identifies an "LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinator" and provides information about visitation, family definitions, confidentiality of sexual-orientation and sexual-behavior information, and procedures for changing names or sex in medical records.

• VA Tennessee Valley (updated Aug. 25): Identifies a "Veterans Care Coordinator" and continues to list services including mental health care, hormone therapy, gender-affirming prosthetics, and HIV and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment.

VA Response

The VA did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

Lawmakers' Concerns

Moulton and Houlahan said the changes could create confusion and discourage LGBTQ+ veterans from seeking medical and mental health care. They cited the history of discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ service members and veterans and called for the VA to restore the specialized support infrastructure.

"Our heroes earned their care," the lawmakers stated.