Veterans enrolled in the VA's Community Care Program — which lets them see outside (non-VA) doctors — will get faster, more organized appointment scheduling under this bill. The VA must build and deploy an electronic scheduling system within two years, allowing VA staff to book community care appointments and send referral and authorization documents directly to outside providers online. VA schedulers will also be required to tell eligible veterans about both in-house VA and community care options each time they book an appointment. The Secretary must set performance benchmarks within 60 days, issue scheduling guidelines within 90 days, and submit semiannual progress reports to Congress for three years after the system launches. A separate provision shifts a minor VA pension-payment deadline from January to May 2033.
Transparency & Accountability
- Semiannual congressional reporting — VA must report participation counts, wait-time comparisons, and appointment volumes for 3 years post-launch
- Performance benchmarks — Secretary required to set outcome metrics (referral-to-appointment time, satisfaction, electronic scheduling rate) within 60 days
- Public website disclosure — VA must publish electronic scheduling details, provider participation info, and a departmental point of contact
Congressional Summary
Veterans Community Care Scheduling Improvement ActThis bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement an electronic process for scheduling health care appointments furnished by the VA or through the Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP). Under the bill, the VA must implement the electronic process not later than two years after the enactment of this bill.The VA must implement a mandatory training program for VA schedulers or other employees involved in scheduling appointments regarding guidelines for the implementation of the electronic process. Additionally, the VA must prescribe performance benchmarks and outcome-based metrics for the electronic process.The VA must also implement an outreach strategy to encourage non-VA health care providers participating in the VCCP to participate in the electronic process.Finally, the bill extends the limitation on pension amounts for certain hospitalized or institutionalized veterans through June 30, 2033.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Reported to House
- Action Date
- 2026-03-30
- Date Added
- 2026-05-06
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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