The Gist
Douglas Collins took over VA in February 2025 and promised to work “in favor of veterans.” When FY2025 closed, VA had processed a record 3 million claims and denied more of them than the year before. Grant rates fell. The workforce shrank. The backlog grew. Collins got credit for the volume. Veterans got a lower shot at approval. The numbers are VA’s own.
Someone posted in a veteran Facebook group last month. The headline said VA was breaking records. The comments filled up fast.
“They’re doing great. Stop complaining.”
“More claims approved than ever before. What’s the problem?”
Here’s the problem.
What VA Says About FY2025
FY2025 closed with VA processing 3,001,734 disability claims. Secretary Douglas Collins called it a record. It was.
The grant rate as of mid-FY2025: 61.8 percent. The all-year rate has not been published.
By volume alone, VA approved roughly 1.86 million claims. That sounds like a win.
Here is what volume alone doesn’t tell you.
Secretary to Secretary
Collins (Feb 5 - Sep 30, 2025; ~8 of 12 FY2025 months)
Grant rate: 61.8% (mid-FY2025; all-year rate not published)
Claims approved: ~1.86M of 3,001,734 processed
McDonough (full FY2024)
Grant rate: ~65%
Claims approved: ~1.64M of 2,517,519 processed
Collins processed more claims. He also approved more by raw count. He also denied more. Using VA’s own numbers, roughly 1.15 million claims were denied under Collins against an estimated 881,000 under McDonough in FY2024. Derived from total claims processed and grant rate. The VA does not publish a total denial count.
More volume means more of everything: approvals, denials, veterans waiting. What moved in the wrong direction was the rate.
Going Back Further
Grant rates during the McDonough years ran around 65 percent. During parts of the Wilkie years, they ran higher. The high-water mark was above 70 percent.
61.8 percent is not a floor. It is a retreat.
The PACT Act Problem
This is where Collins’ team points to the PACT Act as the explanation for everything.
The argument: PACT Act claims are harder to process, there are more of them, and they drag the numbers down.
VA’s own data doesn’t hold that up.
VA’s PACT Act Performance Dashboard (Issue 48, April 18, 2025) puts the grant rate for PACT Act claims at 74.2 percent. More than three in four PACT Act claims were approved.
The overall FY2025 rate under Collins: 61.8 percent.
That 12-point gap doesn’t need a calculator to land. If PACT Act claims, the ones with presumptive status, the ones where the law said approve these, are getting granted at 74 percent, something is pulling the overall rate down to 62. That something is everything else.
PACT Act isn’t dragging the rate down. It’s propping it up.
Processing Records and a Shrinking Workforce
Collins’ tenure overlapped with significant federal workforce reductions under the DOGE initiative. VBA staffing fell during the same period claim volume was breaking records.
A smaller workforce processing record volume produces faster numbers. It does not always produce better ones.
What “In Favor of Veterans” Requires
Collins said on February 5, 2025: “I will work in favor of veterans.”
Working in favor of veterans on disability claims means approving the ones that should be approved. It means not trading accuracy for speed. It means a grant rate that reflects the actual merits of claims, not the pressure to clear a backlog.
PACT Act claims ran at a 74 percent approval rate and made up 42 percent of every claim Collins approved. Do the math: the non-PACT queue is where veterans are losing. That is where “in favor of veterans” needs to show up.
It has not.
What Is Actually True
VA processed more claims in FY2025 than ever before. True.
VA approved more claims by raw count than the year before. True.
VA denied more claims by raw count than the year before. Also true.
The grant rate fell compared to FY2024. True.
PACT Act claims were approved at 74.2 percent while the overall rate sat at 61.8 percent. True.
Collins called it a success. That depends entirely on which number you look at, and which veterans you are asking.
Sources
VA FY2025 total claims processed (3,001,734): VA Office of Public Affairs, FY2025
Grant rate (61.8%, mid-FY2025): Military.com, August 20, 2025
FY2024 claims processed (2,517,519) and grant rate (~65%): VA FY2024 annual claims data
PACT Act grant rate (74.2%): VA PACT Act Performance Dashboard, Issue 48, April 18, 2025
Collins confirmation date and quote: Senate confirmation record, February 5, 2025
Denial count estimates: derived from total claims processed and grant rate. VA does not publish a total denial count.
Sources cited in this article are linked in the published version. All factual claims are Tier 1 (documented) or Tier 2 (attributed allegation) unless otherwise noted.
I use AI as a research and editing assistant, the same way I would use a good reference book or a sharp editor. Every word published here is reviewed, verified, and approved by me. The perspective, accuracy, and editorial decisions are mine.
Last verified: October 26, 2026
Theresa “Tbird” Aldrich, Navy veteran (VAQ-34, AIMD 1983-1990), Investigative Journalist, TbirdsQuietFight.com, Founder of HadIt.com | Advisory Board Member, Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute (VHPI).