Bill > HR3482

This bill, the Veterans Community Care Scheduling Improvement Act, aims to enhance how veterans schedule appointments with healthcare providers outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) through the Veterans Community Care Program. The core provision establishes an electronic system that VA schedulers will use to book appointments with non-VA providers. This system will allow schedulers to view, search, and sort appointments by care type, location, and date, and importantly, will enable them to directly send referral and authorization documents to these external providers. The bill also mandates that the VA develop guidelines for this electronic process, including procedures for employees, a directive to use the system where possible, and a requirement to inform veterans about both VA and community care appointment options. Furthermore, the VA must implement a training program for employees, establish performance benchmarks, and conduct outreach to encourage non-VA providers to participate in this new electronic scheduling system. The bill also includes provisions for reporting to Congress on the operation of this electronic process and a plan to integrate the scheduling of appointments with VA providers into this same system. Finally, it makes a minor adjustment to extend a deadline related to pension payments.

Government Affairs, Military Affairs and Security

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3482/all-info