In mid-June 2025, a claim (archived) circulated on social media that new rules implemented by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs allowed doctors to refuse treatment to Democrats and unmarried veterans.
For example, VoteVets, a progressive veterans advocacy group, shared the claim in an Instagram post (archived) on June 16:
The claim appeared elsewhere on (archived) Instagram (archived), Reddit (archived) and X (archived), often alongside a report published by The Guardian (archived), a British newspaper, on June 16, 2025. Additionally, scores of Snopes readers emailed us and searched our website to ask whether the claim was true.
The Guardian's reporting relied on information from anonymous sources, so Snopes was unable to independently confirm its veracity. Aaron Glantz, the reporter who wrote The Guardian article, said he was unable to share original source documents without compromising his sources.
However, Snopes did uncover documents from one VA health care system showing that some of the language in its rules changed between 2023 and 2025 (more on that at the end of this story).
Snopes reached out to the VA, as well as several individual VA medical centers, for confirmation of the reported rule changes and explanations as to why they occurred.
A VA spokesperson initially pointed us to an X post (archived) by Secretary Doug Collins that called The Guardian's report "ridiculous" and said all eligible veterans would continue to receive the benefits and services they've earned. The spokesperson followed up by providing a longer statement that read, in part: "The Guardian story is false, and VA has asked the outlet to retract it."
On June 17, 2025, a spokesperson for The Guardian told Snopes via an emailed statement: "While we have no plans to retract the story - which highlights the VA's removal of 'politics' and 'marital status' from a list of protections against discrimination within its bylaws - we are considering additional context provided by the VA after publication." The news outlet updated the story and its headline on June 18, 2025.
Here's a breakdown of The Guardian report that sparked the online claims and what we know about changes to the VA rules:
Claims stem from article published by The Guardian
The claims stemmed from a report (archived) published by The Guardian, a left-leaning news site, on June 16, 2025, originally titled, "'Extremely disturbing and unethical': new rules allow VA doctors to refuse to treat Democrats, unmarried veterans."
The Guardian originally reported that doctors at VA hospitals "could refuse to treat unmarried veterans and Democrats under new hospital guidelines imposed following an executive order" by Republican U.S. President Donald Trump. The new rules also applied to psychologists, dentists and other occupations, and had "already gone into effect in at least some VA medical centers," according to The Guardian.
According to documents it reviewed, "doctors and other medical staff can also be barred from working at VA hospitals based on their marital status, political party affiliation or union activity," The Guardian reported.
VA officials cited Trump's January 2025 executive order, titled, "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government" as the reason behind the changes, according to The Guardian.
That executive order proclaimed the federal government will recognize two sexes, male and female. It went on to define sex as "an individual's immutable biological classification as either male or female," and added that "'sex' is not a synonym for and does not include the concept of 'gender identity.'" An expert provided Snopes analysis on how this executive order applied to the VA rule changes, which we detail below.
In response to The Guardian's questions, VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz reportedly "did not dispute that the new rules allowed doctors to refuse to treat veteran patients based on their beliefs or that physicians could be dismissed based on their martial status or political affiliation, but said 'all eligible veterans will always be welcome at the VA and will always receive the benefits and services they've earned under the law.'"
Kasperowicz reportedly said the rule changes were "a formality," but "confirmed they were made to comply with Trump's executive order." He added that the changes were needed to "ensure the VA policy comports with federal law," but did not say which federal law or laws required the changes, according to The Guardian.
The Guardian updated report
On June 18, 2025, the Guardian updated the report (archived here) and its headline in response to information provided by the VA.
The news outlet wrote the following note at the bottom of the article:
This article and its headline were amended on 18 June 2025. An earlier version said that under the new rules, medical staff could refuse to treat veterans based on their beliefs or marital status, and that candidates for hospital positions could face discrimination on grounds of further characteristics removed from the bylaws. After publication, the VA contacted the Guardian citing a 2013 policy directive that it says will continue to protect patients from discrimination despite the redactions in its bylaws; the VA also cited federal law protecting staff from discrimination. The VA further emphasized that federal law gives all eligible veterans access to hospital services. The VA's comments on this were added.
Snopes found several key changes in the language of the updated article compared with the original version.
First, the updated headline read: "VA hospitals remove politics and marital status from guidelines protecting patients from discrimination."
The first sentence of the report was also changed. It previously read: "Doctors at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals nationwide could refuse to treat unmarried veterans and Democrats under new hospital guidelines imposed following an executive order by Donald Trump."
The updated first sentence read: "The Department of Veterans Affairs has imposed new guidelines on VA hospitals nationwide that remove language that explicitly prohibited doctors from discriminating against patients based on their political beliefs or marital status."
Language about the possibility of doctors and medical staff being "barred" from working at VA hospitals based on characteristics like their marital status and political party affiliation was removed from the report. Instead, the updated article read: "Explicit protections for VA doctors and other medical staff based on their marital status, political party affiliation or union activity have also been removed, documents reviewed by the Guardian show."
Comments attributed to Kasperowicz were also revised in the updated article, which said the VA press secretary "did not dispute that language requiring medical staff to treat patients without discriminating on the basis of politics and marital status had been removed from the bylaws."
Additionally, The Guardian provided further context from the VA in its updated report:
The VA said federal laws and a 2013 policy directive that prohibits discrimination on the basis of marital status or political affiliation would not allow patients within the categories removed from its bylaws to be excluded from treatment or allow discrimination against medical professionals.
"Under no circumstances whatsoever would VA ever deny appropriate care to any eligible veterans or appropriate employment to any qualified potential employees," a VA representative said.
Trump administration disputed The Guardian's reporting
The updates came after multiple members of the Trump administration disputed The Guardian's reporting on the new VA rules.
More proof that the fake news CANNOT be trusted. This story is not only false, it's ridiculous. All eligible Veterans will always be welcome at VA and will always receive the benefits and services they've earned under the law.
White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly also responded to Glantz in a post (archived) on X:
A VA spokesperson provided Snopes with a lengthier statement via email that called The Guardian's story "false" and said the VA has "asked the outlet to retract it."
The statement attributed to VA deputy assistant secretary for public affairs Macaulay Porter read, in part:
Here are the facts:
VA recently updated its medical center bylaws to ensure compliance with White House executive orders, such as the order on Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government.
These updates will have no impact whatsoever on who VA treats or employs.
The fact that the Guardian is trying to misrepresent these changes as anything more than a formality underscores its extreme liberal bias and steadfast commitment to spreading disinformation.
The statement also referred to multiple "allegations" within The Guardian's original report that the VA deemed false, citing "federal law." Here are the
Guardian Allegation: "Doctors at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals nationwide could refuse to treat unmarried veterans and Democrats under new hospital guidelines imposed following an executive order by Donald Trump."
Response: False. Federal law prohibits that, and VA will always follow federal law. All eligible Veterans will always be welcome at VA and will always receive the benefits and services they've earned under the law.
Guardian Allegation: "But individual workers are now free to decline to care for patients based on personal characteristics not explicitly prohibited by federal law."
Response: False. Federal law prohibits that, and VA will always follow federal law.
Guardian Allegation: "Doctors and other medical staff can also be barred from working at VA hospitals based on their marital status, political party affiliation or union activity, documents reviewed by the Guardian show."
Response: False. Federal law prohibits that, and VA will always follow federal law.
Guardian Allegation: Similarly, the bylaw on "decisions regarding medical staff membership" no longer forbids VA hospitals from discriminating against candidates for staff positions based on national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, membership in a labor organization or "lawful political party affiliation".
Response: False. Federal law prohibits that, and VA will always follow federal law.
Guardian Allegation: "Under the new policy, some may have to register at a hospital in another region and travel more than a hundred miles to see a doctor."
Response: False. Federal law prohibits that, and VA will always follow federal law. All eligible Veterans will always be welcome at VA and will always receive the benefits and services they've earned under the law.
In an email to Snopes on June 18, 2025, Porter cited a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of marital status or political affiliation and another that governs union participation rights.
Porter added that "health care eligibility" is based on two other federal laws, "not on categories such as political affiliation or marital status." She continued:
Thus, on that statutory basis, VHA Directive 1019, which governs all medical services provided by VA, prohibits discrimination in the provision of services on the basis of marital status or political affiliation. Federal law and VHA Directive 1019 prohibit discrimination. All eligible Veterans will always be welcome at VA and will always receive the benefits and services they've earned under the law.
Palo Alto bylaws show changes to language
Prior to the reported changes, "VA hospitals' bylaws said that medical staff could not discriminate against patients 'on the basis of race, age, color, sex, religion, national origin, politics, marital status or disability in any employment matter,'" The Guardian reported. Now, "national origin," "politics" and "marital status," among other items, have been removed from the list, according to the newspaper.
According to The Guardian, VA rules also no longer forbid hospitals from discriminating against staff candidates based on national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, labor organization membership or "lawful political party affiliation."
Glantz said he was unable to share original source documents with Snopes without compromising his sources. However, he directed us to current medical staff bylaws (archived) for the VA Palo Alto Health Care System in California that are posted online. The document listed an approval date of April 2, 2025.
Snopes compared the 2025 Palo Alto bylaws with an older
However, we were unable to independently confirm exactly when the changes took place or why they occurred.
A spokesperson for the VA Palo Alto Health Care System told Snopes via email that our inquiry was a "question of national policy" that would be "best addressed" by contacting the VA's Office of Media Relations.
As we noted above, a VA spokesperson told Snopes the agency "recently updated its medical center bylaws to ensure compliance with White House executive orders, such as the order on Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government." However, the VA did not elaborate on how the White House's executive orders influenced changes to the agency's rules.
Glantz pointed Snopes to relevant sections within the bylaws that fall under Article III. Medical Staff Membership. The first is part of Section 3.03 Code of Conduct.
This section in the 2025 bylaws read, in part (emphasis ours):
1. Acceptable Behavior: The VA expects that members of the medical staff will serve diligently, loyally, and cooperatively. They must avoid misconduct and other activities that conflict with their duties; exercise courtesy and dignity; and otherwise conduct themselves, both on and off duty, in a manner that reflects positively upon themselves and VA. Acceptable behavior includes the following (1) being on duty as scheduled. (2) being impartial in carrying out official duties and avoiding any action that might result in, or look as though, a medical staff member is giving preferential treatment to any person, group or organization, (3) not discriminating on the basis of any legally protected status, including legally protected status such as race, color, religion, sex, or prior protected activity in any employment matter or in providing benefits under any law administered by VA.
That same section in the bylaws dating back to 2023 included language about national origin, politics and marital status that was absent in the 2025 bylaws. The 2023 bylaws read, in part (emphasis ours):
1. Acceptable Behavior: The VA expects that members of the medical staff will serve diligently, loyally, and cooperatively. They must avoid misconduct and other activities that conflict with their duties; exercise courtesy and dignity; and otherwise conduct themselves, both on and off duty, in a manner that reflects positively upon themselves and VA. Acceptable behavior includes the following (1) being on duty as scheduled. (2) being impartial in carrying out official duties and avoiding any action that might result in, or look as though, a medical staff member is giving preferential treatment to any person, group or organization, (3) not discriminating on the basis of race, age, color, sex, religion, national origin, politics, marital status, or disability in any employment matter or in providing benefits under any law administered by VA
Language in a section about "decisions regarding medical staff membership" also changed from the 2023 to 2025 bylaws.
Section 3.01 Eligibility for Membership on the Medical Staff in the 2025 bylaws read, in part:
3. Decisions regarding Medical Staff membership are made consistent with law and without regard to an individual's legally protected status, such as race, color, religion, sex, or prior protected activity.
In the 2023 bylaws, the same section read:
3. Decisions regarding Medical Staff membership are made without discrimination for reasons such as race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, lawful partisan political affiliation, marital status, physical or mental handicap when the individual is qualified to do the work, age, membership or non-membership in a labor organization, or on the basis of any other criteria unrelated to professional qualifications.
Experts weigh in on VA rule changes
Snopes reached out to Gary Barthel, a former U.S. Marine Corps officer and managing partner at the Military Law Center, to gain more insight about the changes to VA rules.
Trump's executive order, "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," essentially "ordered federal agencies to enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin, and to no longer include gender identity as a protected class," Barthel said.
As a result, under the new VA bylaws, the agency "removed gender identity and other certain classes not specifically required under the Civil Rights Act of 1964," such as marital status and political affiliation, Barthel added.
But Barthel said veterans should not be concerned about losing their benefits due to various protections that are in place.
"The changes are not likely to have any impact on a nonmarried or Democratic veteran from receiving care and if a care provider refused to provide care because of a veteran's political affiliation or marital status, they likely would be disciplined for doing so and could lose their license to practice," he wrote in an email to Snopes.
However, other experts have expressed concerns about what the rule changes mean in practice.
Dr. Kenneth Kizer, the VA's top health care official during the Clinton Administration, told The Guardian they "seem to open the door to discrimination on the basis of anything that is not legally protected."
Dr. Arthur Caplan, founding head of the division of medical ethics at New York University's Grossman School of Medicine, also called the new rules "extremely disturbing and unethical," The Guardian reported.