Summary

Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to make sure every one of the 48 contiguous States has at least one full-service Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hospital where veterans eligible under 38 U.S.C. §1710 can receive hospital care and medical services. The requirement preserves the VA’s existing authority to provide care across State lines. Directs the VA to add a new statutory provision (38 U.S.C. §1716A), updates a citation entry for the Act’s short title, and orders the Secretary to report to Congress within one year on compliance and on how this requirement affects quality and standards of care. The text does not appropriate new funds or set construction deadlines.

• Requires VA to ensure at least one full-service VHA hospital is located in each of the 48 contiguous States for veterans eligible under 38 U.S.C. §1710.
• Preserves VA authority to provide care across State lines while adding the in-State full-service hospital requirement.
• Creates a new statutory section (38 U.S.C. §1716A) and a table-of-sections entry in title 38.
• Amends a citation entry in 38 U.S.C. §1703(d)(1)(B) to include the Act’s short title reference.
• Directs the VA Secretary to report to Congress within one year on compliance and on effects to quality and standards of care.
• Does not appropriate or specify funding, construction timelines, or implementation methods.
• Applies only to the 48 contiguous States; does not cover Alaska, Hawaii, territories, or specify changes to existing interstate care arrangements.
• May require the VA to build, upgrade, or reorganize services or use partnerships to meet the per-State hospital requirement.
• Could change how VHA allocates resources and plans facilities, but details and costs would depend on follow-up actions and appropriations.