Sponsors (2)
The bill expands no-cost preventive care for veterans and their families—improving access, prevention, and out-of-pocket savings—while increasing VA costs and demand and introducing administrative and political challenges that could affect implementation and wait times.
Veterans, survivors, and dependents will no longer pay copayments for a broad set of preventive services, reducing out-of-pocket costs for routine care.
Veterans and eligible beneficiaries gain expanded no-cost preventive care — including USPSTF A/B recommended screenings and counseling and ACIP-aligned vaccinations — increasing uptake of disease prevention and early detection services.
Women veterans and dependents will receive covered contraception (drugs, devices, biologics) and related services without copays, lowering barriers to reproductive health care.
Eliminating copayments for many preventive services will increase VA healthcare expenditures and may require higher federal appropriations or reallocation of VA resources, with fiscal impacts for taxpayers and the VA system.
Expanded coverage is likely to increase demand for VA appointments and services, which could lengthen wait times and delay access to care for some veterans.
Tying coverage to recommendations from 'major professional organizations' may create ambiguity and inconsistent coverage decisions across specialties, complicating administration and provider implementation.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced March 26, 2026 by Tammy Duckworth · Last progress March 26, 2026
Eliminates VA copayments for a wide range of preventive health services for eligible veterans, survivors, and dependents, and expands the statutory definition of "preventive health services" to expressly include over-the-counter medications, a broad set of evidence-based services (including USPSTF A/B recommendations), immunizations aligned with ACIP/adult schedules, contraceptive products and services, and other preventive items such as screenings, counseling, breastfeeding supports, obesity prevention for midlife women, and well-woman visits. The changes amend multiple provisions of 38 U.S.C. to remove copay requirements across outpatient, inpatient (hospital and nursing home), walk-in, and survivor/dependent care settings and take effect 180 days after enactment. The bill broadens existing preventive care protections beyond narrow lists to a more flexible, evidence-based standard tied to USPSTF and major professional guidance, and explicitly covers over-the-counter medications and specified contraceptive drugs/devices/biologics, shifting financial barriers away from veterans and eligible family members for these services.
Eliminates VA copayments for a broad set of preventive services (including OTC meds, vaccinations, USPSTF A/B services, and contraception) for eligible veterans and dependents.