A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to establish an external provider scheduling program to assist the Department of Veterans Affairs in scheduling appointments for care and services under the Veterans Community Care Program, and for other purposes.
Veterans Community Care Scheduling Improvement Act
SCHEDULES Act of 2026 Scheduling for Community Health and Easy Data to Understand for Legislators to Evaluate Services Act of 2026
SCHEDULES Act of 2026 Scheduling for Community Health and Easy Data to Understand for Legislators to Evaluate Services Act of 2026
Veterans Health Care Freedom Act This bill requires the Center for Innovation for Care and Payment within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement a three-year pilot program to improve the ability of veterans who are enrolled in the VA health care system to access hospital care, medical services, and extended care services through the covered care system by providing such veterans with the ability to choose health care providers. Under the bill, the covered care system includes VA medical facilities, health care providers participating in the Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP), and eligible entities or providers that have entered into a Veterans Care Agreement. A veteran participating in the program may elect to receive care at any provider in the covered care system. The pilot program removes certain requirements (e.g., location of the veteran) to access care at VA and non-VA facilities. After four years, the bill permanently phases out the requirements for accessing care under the VCCP and Veterans Care Agreements and requires the VA to provide such care under the same conditions of the pilot program. Additionally, after four years, veterans may receive care at a VA medical facility regardless of whether the facility is in the same Veterans Integrated Service Network as the veteran.
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to designate one week per year as Battle Buddy Check Week for the purposes of organizing outreach events and educating veterans on how to conduct peer wellness checks. The VA shall ensure that the Veterans Crisis Line has a plan for handling the potential increase in calls that may occur during such week.
Veteran's Choice Accountability Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to evaluate VA programs that furnish hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to ensure that the most intensively used specialized care programs are maintained as centers of excellence. The bill also requires the VA to submit an evaluation of the VA's implementation of the VA Budget and Choice Improvement Act.
Requires DOLWD to allow individuals to schedule unemployment service appointments at One Stop Career Centers via telephone or Internet.
Gerald's Law Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide a burial and funeral allowance for a veteran who dies from a non-service-connected disability in a home or other setting at which the veteran was receiving VA hospice care (if such care was directly preceded by VA hospital or nursing home care).
Veterans Mental Health Crisis Referral Enhancement Act of 2025This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement a three-year pilot program under which Vet Centers and VA medical facilities provide veterans who are experiencing mental health crises with referrals to approved non-VA mental health care providers.The VA must report on the implementation, outcomes, and effectiveness of the pilot program.