Sponsors (8)
The bill increases transparency and sets measurable appointment-timing standards to improve veterans' access and accountability, but brings risks of administrative cost burdens, metric-driven care decisions, and potential unfair penalties for complex-serving facilities.
Veterans will get clearer, measurable timelines for appointments because the VA must establish and report a referral-to-appointment timing standard, making waiting-time expectations more transparent.
Veterans (and other users) can compare facilities because the VA must publish facility rankings and disaggregated performance data, improving transparency and enabling more informed choices.
Taxpayers, Congress, and the public gain stronger oversight tools because the VA must report quarterly and describe corrective actions and estimated compliance dates, increasing accountability.
Veterans and VA staff may face pressure to meet rigid scheduling targets (3 business days for VA, 7 calendar days for community care), which could encourage prioritizing measured metrics over individualized clinical judgment.
Veterans and hospitals could see resources diverted from direct care because increased reporting and compliance requirements will raise VA administrative costs unless additional funding is provided.
Hospitals and veterans served by high‑complexity or high‑demand centers could be unfairly penalized by public facility rankings if performance measures are not risk‑adjusted, harming reputation and access.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires VA to set a standard measuring time from referral entry to appointment, publish it, and report facility-level compliance quarterly with specified breakdowns.
Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to create a uniform timing standard that measures the time from when a referral is entered into the VA care coordination system to when the veteran’s appointment occurs, for both VA facilities and community care. The VA must publish the standard at least 30 days before adopting or changing it and provide quarterly, facility-level public reports showing compliance, category breakdowns, ranked lists of VA medical centers, and an annual aggregated summary with corrective actions and an estimated date of full compliance. The measure focuses on transparency and oversight of scheduling performance by requiring specific reporting elements, including compliance with a three-business-day scheduling benchmark for VA-facility referrals and a seven-calendar-day benchmark for community-care referrals, and disaggregation by high-demand care categories.
Introduced April 6, 2026 by Scott Franklin · Last progress April 6, 2026