Sponsors (6)
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Amends 38 U.S.C. 1729 to (1) revise subsection (a)(1) to restate the United States' right to recover reasonable charges for care or services for non-service-connected disabilities and to clarify recovery from third parties and applicability to all causes of action in tort or under benefit plans/contracts; (2) add a new subparagraph (F) to subsection (a)(2) covering amounts incurred by individuals entitled to care under circumstances creating tort liability upon a third party; (3) amend subsection (b)(2) to specify enforcement authority and timing rules including a six-year limit and a separate three-year filing rule for tort-based money-damages actions; (4) redesignate former subsections (h) and (i) as (l) and (m) and insert new subsections (g)–(k) establishing timelines and procedures for third-party payment and notice (45-day and 15-day response windows), definitions (including “clean claim”), information-submission requirements, interest at the rate established under 31 U.S.C. 3717 for late payments, limits on refund requests (18 months), prohibition on using non-Department claims processes, and civil penalties (including daily published amounts and a willful-failure penalty of the higher of treble the claim or up to $50,000 per claim) as well as authorizing Secretary implementation by regulation or program instructions.
Adds new section 1729C to title 38 creating VA cost-recovery authority to obtain reimbursement from Medicare Advantage organizations and prescription drug plan sponsors for items and services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs that are covered under those Medicare plans; specifies recovery procedures, deposit of recovered amounts into the VA Medical Care Collections Fund, and applicability to plan years beginning on or after Jan 1, 2026.
Makes conforming amendments to section 1814(c) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395f(c)) to reflect the cost-recovery authority established in new 38 U.S.C. 1729C (text of the insertion not shown in provided section).
Makes conforming amendments to section 1835(d) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395n(d)) to reflect the cost-recovery authority established in new 38 U.S.C. 1729C (text of the insertion not shown in provided section).
Makes conforming amendments to section 1862(a)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395y(a)(3)) to reflect the cost-recovery authority established in new 38 U.S.C. 1729C (text of the insertion not shown in provided section).
This bill lets the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) get paid back by Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D drug plans when the VA gives veterans care that those plans cover. It includes outpatient and inpatient care, prescriptions, medical devices, lab tests, and care in post-acute or long-term settings. It applies whether the care is for a service-connected condition or not, and plans must reimburse the VA even if they would normally require extra paperwork or approvals. The VA will use its existing recovery process to collect these payments, and the money goes into the VA Medical Care Collections Fund. The policy starts for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
Key points:
Referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced June 23, 2025 by Lloyd Alton Doggett · Last progress June 23, 2025
