Trump Cites the V.A. as a Central Achievement. But Troubles Simmer.

And an expensive plan to convert the system’s medical records electronically has hit one delay after another.

That long and expanding litany of problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs has left analysts and some veterans questioning why Mr. Trump has tried to make his record there a centerpiece of his quest for a second term.

“The challenges at the V.A. are multifaceted,” Terri Tanielian, a senior analyst at the RAND Corporation who specializes in military and veteran health issues, said. “Recognizing that addressing these issues takes sustained leadership commitment, not sound bites, is essential if we are going to deliver on the promises to veterans at the V.A.”

Mr. Trump is fond of saying that he delivered the Veterans Choice Program, which enables some veterans to get care outside of the agency’s health centers, and that “no president’s ever been able to do it, and we got it done.”

This is untrue; President Barack Obama signed that law, the product of a bill negotiated between Senators Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, and the late John McCain, Republican of Arizona, in 2014. What Mr. Trump signed in 2018 — a measure called was the Mission Act — greatly loosened the standards allowing veterans to seek primary care, urgent care and mental health services outside the department’s system.

The urgent care component is viewed largely as a success. But for primary and specialist care, the legislation has so far not transformed the system. It was somewhat hobbled out of the gate by a shortage of doctors in the network the department chose for the program. The, company told lawmakers last year that it would probably need millions of dollars more to meet the coverage goals.