Improving Veteran Access to Care Act

This bill, the Improving Veteran Access to Care Act, would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to form an integrated project team (IPT) within the Veterans Health Administration and VA IT offices to overhaul how veterans schedule health care appointments. The team would develop a comprehensive scheduling system that lets patients and VA staff view and book appointments across all VA providers, clinics, hospitals, and care settings; create a self-service online scheduling platform; enable scheduling via telephone with a scheduler who can book on behalf of the patient; and perform related governance, metrics, and change-management tasks. The bill also directs coordination with the VA’s Electronic Health Record Modernization Program (EHRM) to ensure alignment with ongoing modernizations, but it explicitly does not require delaying scheduling improvements for future EHRM capabilities. Deadlines require establishing the IPT within 180 days and completing the objectives within one year, with regular Congress reporting on progress, costs, and implementation challenges. Importantly, the bill preserves veterans’ freedom to schedule through non-online channels if they prefer.