Originally published: 2026-06-03T15:00:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs has streamlined the process of purchasing prosthetic limbs to more efficiently serve thousands of Veterans who receive prosthetics through the VA every year.
Under prior procurement rules, orders for all prosthetic limbs had to be approved by a contracting officer, which meant Veterans had to wait several additional weeks before delivery.
On April 22, 2026, VA Secretary Doug Collins exempted approximately 95% of prosthetic limb orders from contracting officer reviews and determined that only the most expensive prosthetic limbs would continue to be subject to these reviews. Secretary Collins also authorized local purchasing agents to source directly from local suppliers whenever prosthetic limb prices are set by Medicare, in which case there is no negotiation over price and no need for review by a contracting officer.
These commonsense changes have already reduced Veterans’ wait times for prosthetic limbs by 10 days, and VA expects average wait times to fall more than 40 percent – from 94 days to 54 days – as facilities across the nation fully implement this new process.
“Every day counts for Veterans. By removing needless bureaucracy, VA is enabling clinicians and procurement teams to provide Veterans with high-quality prosthetic care, better and faster than before,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins.
More than 45,000 Veterans rely on VA each year for major limb loss care. For more information, visit these sites:
- VA Amputation Care Services
- VA Orthotic, Prosthetic & Pedorthic Clinical Services
- VA Prosthetic & Sensory Aid Services
Faster delivery of prosthetics 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 150,000 new Veterans in VA health care in 2026.
- Opened 36 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 72% since Jan. 20, 2025, after it increased 24% during the Biden Administration.
- Completed an all-time high of 82,083,918 direct care appointments in FY2025, up 4.1% from FY2024.
- Offered Veterans more than 2.8 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.
Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.
