Sponsors (20)
The bill improves access, clinical oversight, and tailored preventive care for veterans with spinal cord injuries but increases program complexity and costs and may leave some rural or low‑tech veterans less able to use telehealth-dependent services.
Veterans with spinal cord injury or disorder gain annual preventative evaluations covering pain, nutrition, risk reduction, prosthetics, and assistive-technology needs, improving their health monitoring and care planning.
Veterans (especially those in remote areas or with mobility limits) can receive assessments, follow-up, and some programming/training via VA telehealth, expanding access to services.
VA will have stronger oversight and stakeholder-informed implementation — via reporting to Congress, required consultations with clinicians/experts/manufacturers, and inclusion in VISN performance reviews — which should improve clinical quality, transparency, and local delivery of assistive-technology services.
Taxpayers and veterans could face higher VA administrative costs to implement evaluations, reporting, and new program requirements, potentially diverting resources from other services or requiring additional funding.
Veterans and health systems may see increased demand for costly assistive and implantable technologies (when FDA‑approved) and for downstream care, raising program expenses and possible out-of-pocket costs or wait times.
Veterans in areas with poor broadband or limited tech access may not fully benefit from telehealth-dependent assessments, training, or monitoring, worsening access inequities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires VA to offer an annual preventive evaluation to veterans with spinal cord injury or disorder, including assistive-technology and neuromodulation assessments, with stakeholder consultation and reporting.
Official title: To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to offer annual preventative health evaluations to veterans with a spinal cord injury or disorder and increase access to assistive technologies, and for other purposes.
Introduced December 18, 2025 by John Bergman · Last progress December 18, 2025
Requires the VA to offer an annual preventive health evaluation to any veteran with a spinal cord injury or disorder who chooses it. The evaluation may be provided through VA direct care, referral, or telehealth and must include risk assessments, chronic pain and dietary evaluations, prosthetic and assistive-technology needs (including spinal cord neuromodulation), and related care planning. Directs stakeholder consultation in issuing VA guidance, permits telehealth-based training/programming/remote monitoring, mandates annual outreach to known veterans, requires periodic reporting to congressional veterans committees, and asks VA to consider these evaluations in VISN performance reviews starting after the first year following enactment.