Sponsors
The bill increases transparency and accountability around VA scheduling and wait times to help veterans get timelier care, but it creates administrative and operational burdens, privacy risks, and potential equity problems for facilities serving complex or rural populations.
Veterans and the public will get facility-level public rankings, posted reports, and Federal Register notices that increase accountability and create incentives to reduce scheduling delays.
Veterans will receive clearer, measurable timelines and quarterly/annual performance breakdowns by care category and state, improving transparency about wait times and helping target improvements for high-demand services (e.g., mental health, oncology).
VA staff and facilities will face new operational and reporting burdens to meet timing standards and publication requirements, which could divert staff time and resources away from direct patient care.
Public rankings could penalize facilities that serve sicker, more complex, or rural veteran populations if appropriate case-mix or access adjustments are not specified, worsening equity and access in those communities.
Publishing detailed facility-level referral and scheduling data risks exposing sensitive patient information if privacy safeguards and de-identification are insufficient.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires VA to set and publish a referral-to-appointment timing standard and to report quarterly, facility-level data on meeting that standard and two substandards, with public posting.
Introduced March 26, 2026 by Richard Lynn Scott · Last progress March 26, 2026
Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to set a clear timing standard that measures how long it takes from when a veteran’s referral is entered into the VA care coordination system to when the veteran actually receives an appointment, whether that appointment is at a VA facility or through community care. The Secretary may update the standard as scheduling changes, but must publish proposed changes at least 30 days in advance. Mandates public reporting to Congress and online: quarterly, facility-level counts and percentages showing referrals that met the comprehensive standard and two substandards (a three-business-day target for VA facility referrals and a seven-calendar-day target for community-care referrals), disaggregated by state and by the top five (or more) most in-demand categories of care; plus an annual aggregated dataset, a description of improvement steps, and an estimate for achieving full compliance. All reports must be posted on a Veterans Health Administration website.