Sponsors (10)
The bill preserves higher in‑home care reimbursement rates and increases transparency to help veterans and encourage provider participation, but it raises VA spending, creates more administrative work, and may not by itself eliminate access problems caused by non‑rate barriers.
Veterans who receive Homemaker and Home Health Aide (HHA) services will keep higher reimbursement rates if rates reverted after Dec 31, 2025, which helps preserve access to in‑home care.
Home- and community-based care providers and local programs are more likely to participate in VA programs because restored rates and notice protections improve payment predictability, and VA is required to report on provider supply and plans to address regional gaps, supporting efforts to reduce provider shortages in underserved areas.
Taxpayers, Congress, and the public gain greater oversight because the VA must produce a 90-day transparency report and recurring reports explaining the data, models, contractor roles, and weighting used to set rates, improving accountability in VA rate‑setting.
Veterans may still face access gaps because reinstating rates alone does not address non‑rate barriers (workforce shortages, licensing, travel), so restored payments might not fully resolve care shortages in some areas.
Higher or reinstated reimbursement rates will increase VA expenditures, which could lead to higher costs for taxpayers or require reallocations within the VA budget.
The new 90-day and annual reporting requirements impose administrative burdens on VA staff and contractors, diverting time and resources that might otherwise go to direct care delivery.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Restores VA homemaker/home health aide reimbursement rates to Dec 31, 2025 levels, requires 90‑day notice for future cuts, and mandates transparency and annual provider-supply reports.
Restores and protects VA reimbursement rates for Homemaker and Home Health Aide services that were reduced after December 31, 2025, by directing the VA to reinstate those rates to their December 31, 2025 levels and prohibiting future reductions below that baseline without at least 90 days' notice to Congress. Requires the VA to report within 90 days on how it sets those rates and to provide recurring reports (initial within 180 days and annually thereafter) on provider supply, regions with inadequate participation, and plans to ensure adequate provider participation.
Official title: To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure fair reimbursement rates for home and community-based services furnished by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 16, 2026 by Teresa Leger Fernandez · Last progress July 16, 2026