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May 19, 2026
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Download official House Record PDFReturn to issue contextMr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3482) to amend title 38, United States Code, to establish an online program through which an employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs may schedule an appointment for a covered veteran with a non- Department health care provider under the Veterans Community Care Program, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3482.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Veterans Community Care
Scheduling Improvement Act”.
SEC. 2. SCHEDULING OF APPOINTMENTS UNDER THE VETERANS
COMMUNITY CARE PROGRAM.
(a) Electronic Process.—Subsection (d) of section 3101 of
the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health
Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 (Public Law 116-
315; 38 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended to read as follows:
“(d) Electronic Process.—(1) The Secretary shall
implement an electronic process through which a scheduler of
the Department, using an information technology system, may
schedule an appointment for health care furnished by the
Department or through the Veterans Community Care Program,
under section 1703 of this title, by a non-Department health
care provider.
“(2) The electronic process under this subsection shall
allow a scheduler, with regards to appointments described
in—
“(A) either clause of subparagraph (A) of subsection
(a)(1), to view, search, and sort such appointments by type
of care, location, and date; and
“(B) clause (ii) of such subparagraph—
“(i) to schedule such an appointment;
“(ii) to provide referral and authorization documents
directly to a non-Department provider; and
“(iii) to perform any other function the Secretary
determines necessary.
“(3) The Secretary shall ensure that the electronic
process allows a scheduler to schedule an appointment for
health care furnished by the Secretary through a health care
provider of the Department.
“(4) The Secretary shall implement the electronic process
through an existing agreement if practicable.
“(5) The Secretary shall submit to the Committees on
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives
the following regarding the electronic process:
“(A) Not later than 90 days after the Secretary makes a
determination under subparagraph (B)(iii) of paragraph (2), a
briefing regarding the functions the Secretary has determined
necessary.
“(B) Not later than six months after the date of the
enactment of Veterans Community Care Scheduling Improvement
Act, and semiannually thereafter during the following three
years, a report regarding operation of the electronic process
during both the semiannual period preceding the date of the
report and the cumulative period since the date of the
enactment of such Act. Such a report shall include the
following for each such period:
“(i) The number of non-Department health care providers
that participated in such electronic process, disaggregated
by—
“(I) category of hospital care or medical services
provided; and
“(II) medical center of the Department;
“(ii) The number of appointments scheduled pursuant to the
electronic process, disaggregated by—
“(I) category of hospital care or medical services
provided;
“(II) medical center of the Department; and
“(III) month.
“(iii) A comparison of the average wait time for
appointments scheduled through the electronic process and
through non-electronic methods, disaggregated by medical
center of the Department.
“(iv) The rates at which veterans cancelled appointments
scheduled through the electronic process.
“(v) The rates at which veterans did not appear for
appointments scheduled through the electronic process.”.
(b) Implementation.—
(1) Date.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
implement the electronic process under subsection (d) of
section 1703H of such title, as added by this section, not
later than two years after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(2) Guidelines.—Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall establish guidelines. Such guidelines shall include the
following:
(A) Procedures for schedulers and other employees of the
Department involved in the scheduling of appointments
described in such section.
(B) A directive that employees described in subparagraph
(A) use the electronic process to the extent practicable.
(C) A directive that employees described in subparagraph
(A), when scheduling an appointment for a covered veteran (as
such term is used in section 1703 of such title) for health
care furnished by the Secretary, inform such covered veteran
of available appointments though providers of the Department
and through providers under the Veterans Community Care
Program when eligible.
(D) Procedures for engaging with non-Department health care
providers in specialized cases.
(E) Standards regarding timeliness and accuracy.
(F) Escalation protocols for scheduling failures or delays.
(3) Training.—Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall implement a
mandatory training program for employees described in
paragraph (2) regarding the guidelines under paragraph (2).
(4) Evaluation.—Not later than 60 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prescribe
performance benchmarks and outcome-based metrics for the
electronic process under such section, including—
(A) time between a referral and a scheduled appointment;
(B) patient satisfaction; and
(C) the percentage of appointments scheduled exclusively
through the electronic process.
(5) Outreach.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall plan and carry out
an outreach strategy to encourage non-Department of Veterans
Affairs health care providers that participate in the
Veterans Community Care Program to participate in the
electronic process under such subsection. Such outreach
shall—
(A) include contacting each such provider during such 90
days;
(B) include seeking to enter into an agreement with each
such provider under which the provider shall participate in
the electronic process;
(C) include collaborating with State hospital associations
and rural health associations to promote such participation;
(D) focus on providers in specialties or underserved areas,
as determined by the Secretary; and
(E) include the publication, on a publicly accessible
website of the Department, of information regarding—
(i) details of the electronic process;
(ii) how a provider may elect to participate in the
electronic process; and
(iii) a point of contact in the Department regarding the
electronic process.
(6) Oversight.—The Secretary shall submit to the
Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of
Representatives, with regards to the electronic process under
such subsection, the following:
(A) Not later than 30 days after the Secretary establishes
guidelines under paragraph (2) of this subsection, a copy of
such guidelines.
(B) Not later than 30 days after the Secretary formulates
the plan under paragraph (5) of this subsection, a briefing
on the outreach strategy under such paragraph.
(C) Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the benchmarks and metrics prescribed under
paragraph (4).
(c) Expansion.—Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of
Representatives a plan to integrate the scheduling of
appointments for health care furnished through health care
providers of the Department of Veterans Affairs into the
electronic process under subsection (d) of section 1703H of
such title. Such plan shall include the following elements:
(1) A timeline to implement such plan.
(2) Estimated costs to carry out such plan.
(3) Changes to policies and procedures of the Department
the Secretary determines necessary to implement such plan.
(d) Codification.—
(1) In general.—Section 3101 of such Act, as amended by
subsection (a), is transferred to subchapter I of chapter 17
of title 38, United States Code, inserted after section
1703G, and redesignated as section 1703H.
(2) Conforming amendments.—Section 1703H of such title, as
transferred and redesignated by this subsection, is amended—
(A) by striking any heading that is not a section heading
or subsection heading and conforming the margins accordingly;
(B) by striking “of title 38, United States Code” both
places it appears and inserting “of this title”;
(C) in subsection (b)(1), by striking “Not later than one
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary” and inserting “The Secretary”;
(D) in subsection (c)—
(i) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by striking “Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary” and inserting
“The Secretary”; and
(ii) in paragraph (2), by striking subparagraphs (A) and
(B) and inserting “The Secretary shall require each medical
facility of the Department to use the method or tool
described in paragraph (1).”;
(E) in the section enumerator, by striking “sec.” and
inserting “Sec. ”; and
(F) in the section heading—
(i) by striking “process and requirements for scheduling
appointments for health care from department of veterans
affairs and non-department health care.” and inserting
“scheduling of appointments”; and
(ii) by conforming the typeface and typestyle, including
capitalization, to the typeface and typestyle used in the
section heading of section 1703G of such title.
(3) Table of sections.—The table of sections at the
beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting, after the
item relating to section 1703G, the following new item:
“1703H. Scheduling of appointments.”.
SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF CERTAIN LIMITS ON PAYMENT OF PENSION.
Section 5503(d)(7) of title 38, United States Code, is
amended by striking “January 31, 2033” and inserting “May
31, 2033”.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.
General Leave
Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 3482, as amended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3482, as amended, offered by my friend and colleague, Representative Tom Barrett of Michigan.
work better for our veterans. For far too long, the scheduling process has posed structural barriers that delay our veterans from accessing the timely healthcare that they have earned.
care difficult when they are trying to see a provider in their own community. This bill would cut through that bureaucracy by bringing the VA's scheduling into the 21st century.
across every VA medical center. It would equip VA employees with a modernized system to view, search, and sort real-time availability for both VA and non-VA providers. Under this bill, a VA scheduler could book an appointment and send the referral documents electronically without endless phone calls.
their community care appointments in minutes, instead of waiting days on end.
VA accountable for achieving real results to deliver better healthcare. VA would be required to track patron satisfaction and wait times so we can ensure taxpayer resources are making a real impact.
Affairs, Concerned Veterans for America, the National Rural Health Association, and The American Legion for their support of this truly bipartisan legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1610
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3482, the Veterans Community Care Scheduling Improvement Act, as amended.
long to get an appointment, whether at VA or through community care. As is the case with many things at VA, outdated and cumbersome technology makes it very difficult to schedule appointments. In addition, there are not enough requirements for community providers to make their schedules available in an electronic format to make it easier for VA schedulers to check availability.
is a solid step forward toward fixing issues that have plagued the Veterans Health Administration since before the Phoenix wait-time scandal in 2014. Veterans deserve timely access to care whether that is at VA or in the community, and it is our responsibility to ensure that they get it.
The system authorized by H.R. 3482 would leverage technology to allow VA schedulers to see community care providers' schedules and book appointments directly into them, streamlining the process and allowing them to get booked days or weeks faster.
direct care appointments as well as the community care, giving veterans an apples-to-apples comparison of first available appointments. This crucial new ability will allow veterans to make an informed choice about where they wish to receive their care.
substantial impact on veterans' access to timely care, I am concerned that it will only be as good as VA's ability to recruit community care providers to participate. I think there should be more requirements in the VA's community care network contracts to mandate community provider participation.
opportunity to do just that. The VA must also ensure that there is buy- in from all levels of the organization because technology is only as good as its implementation and adoption. However, I will say that this is a good first step in that direction.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Barrett), who is the sponsor of this bill.
Mr. BARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman and the ranking member for their endorsement of this critical piece of legislation.
Mr. Speaker, the men and women who served and sacrificed for our Nation deserve the best healthcare that our country can offer, and they certainly shouldn't have to wait weeks or longer just to find out if they can make an appointment to see a doctor.
decades. The good news is that the VA community care program is helping us turn things around by allowing veterans to receive medical services from local healthcare providers outside of the traditional VA hospitals and clinics right in their own communities closer to home. But the system is far from perfect.
appointments can be harder to schedule and too often are not even offered as an option.
a routine audiology appointment. I got called by a VA scheduler, then they had to call a number of providers, then they called me back, and when they actually set the appointment, it was on a date that I was here in Washington and not back home in Michigan. I had to reschedule the entire thing and start all over again.
is why I urge my colleagues to support my Veterans Community Care Scheduling Improvement Act, the bill before us today.
digital interface called the External Provider Scheduling system to finally allow VA staff to simultaneously view all available appointments at both VA facilities and those participating in the community care program. It would all be in one centralized interface.
process as we were working on this bill, and the results speak for themselves.
compared to just a small handful through the manual process they were following before.
requiring the VA to keep this simplified, streamlined system in place beyond the pilot program they have today. Ensuring this progress is not undone by a future administration will give our veterans the access and certainty that they have earned.
legislation to support our Nation's heroes, and I thank Chairman Bost and the full committee for bringing it to the floor.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote “yes.”
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote “yes” on H.R. 3482, the Veterans Community Care Scheduling Improvement Act, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3482, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.