Amend title 38, United States Code, to establish an external provider scheduling program to assist the Department of Veterans Affairs in scheduling appointments for care and services under the Veterans Community Care Program, and for other purposes.

Summary

Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop or buy real-time scheduling technology so VA schedulers can view community/external provider calendars and make appointments directly for veterans using the VA’s external provider scheduling program. The VA may use existing contracts or new contracts, must design the systems to shorten time from referral to scheduled care and reduce scheduler workload, and must report progress annually to the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees through 2028.

• Directs the VA to develop or procure real‑time scheduling technology for use with community/external providers.
• Allows the VA to use existing contracts or establish new contracts to obtain the systems.
• Requires systems to be designed to reduce days from referral to scheduled care and reduce scheduler time.
• Mandates annual progress reports to House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees by September 30 each year through 2028.
• Adds statutory references to integrate the new scheduling capability into existing external provider scheduling rules.
• Does not specify funding amounts, exact technical standards, or fixed implementation deadlines beyond annual reporting.
• Aims to shorten veteran wait times and reduce administrative burden on VA schedulers, but requires system integration with community providers.
• Raises implementation considerations: IT development, contracting, interoperability, data security, and provider adoption.