Sponsors (13)
The bill lowers out-of-pocket training costs for VA clinicians and aims to improve veteran care by funding continuing education (with adjustable reimbursement), but does so at added federal expense, administrative cost, and with a reimbursement cap that may not fully cover high-cost specialties.
Veterans may receive higher-quality care because VA clinicians will have lower barriers to required continuing professional education, which can improve provider skills and staffing retention.
Full-time VA health care workers (physicians, nurses, psychologists, etc.) will receive up to $2,000 per year reimbursed for continuing professional education, reducing their out-of-pocket training costs.
VA healthcare workers and federal employees benefit from authorization for the VA Secretary to adjust reimbursement amounts over time, helping the program keep pace with inflation and rising professional education costs.
Taxpayers may face increased federal spending to cover the reimbursements and any future increases the Secretary authorizes, raising fiscal costs.
Some clinicians (especially those pursuing expensive specialty certifications or conferences) may still face significant out-of-pocket costs because the $2,000 annual cap may be insufficient.
The VA may incur additional administrative burden to manage reimbursements and implement adjustments, requiring staff time or systems changes for VA offices and affiliated health systems.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes up to $2,000 per year to reimburse CPE expenses for specified full‑time VA health care professionals, with the Secretary allowed to raise (but not lower) that amount.
Introduced January 23, 2025 by Julia Brownley · Last progress January 23, 2025
Provides up to $2,000 per year to reimburse continuing professional education (CPE) expenses for specified full‑time VA health care professionals, and lets the VA Secretary raise that amount over time but not below $2,000. Lists the covered occupations and updates the statutory table of sections to reflect the change.