U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
05/18/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/18/2026 10:30
VA hospitals earn record-high quality ratings in 2026 CMS report
WASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced that 78% of VA hospitals that received an Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating earned four or five stars in the latest annual report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
That's the highest percentage since CMS first started rating VA facilities in 2023. Additionally, VA accounted for nearly 15% of all 5-star rated hospitals in the 2026 report.
The new report marks the fourth consecutive year that VA facilities have outperformed non-VA facilities, and it's the second year in a row that no VA hospital received a one-star rating. The percentage of VA hospitals that received an Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating and received four or five stars has grown dramatically during the Trump Administration:
- 2023, 67%
- 2024, 58%
- 2025, 77%
- 2026, 78%
"The Trump Administration has a proven track record of improving Veterans' care, and these ratings underscore that success," said VA Secretary Doug Collins. "We look forward to continuing to deliver the results Veterans have earned at VA facilities across the nation."
View the star ratings for each facility and methodology for the ratings.
The latest CMS report is just the latest example of how the Trump Administration is making VA work better for Veterans. Among other improvements, VA has:
- Enrolled more than 140,000 new Veterans in VA healthcare in 2026.
- Opened 35 new VA health care facilities since Jan. 20, 2025, expanding health care access for Veterans around the country.
- Reduced the backlog of Veterans waiting for VA benefits by 70% since Jan. 20, 2025, after it increased 24% during the Biden Administration.
- Completed 82,083,918 direct care appointments in FY2025, up 4.1% from FY2024.
- Offered Veterans more than 2.5 million appointments outside of normal operating hours, giving Veterans more timely and convenient options for care.
- Permanently housed 51,936 homeless Veterans across the country in FY2025, the highest total in seven years.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs published this content on May 18, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on May 18, 2026 at 16:30 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]