STRIVE Act of 2025

The STRIVE Act of 2025 aims to shield veterans from health care copayments in specific situations caused by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) processing delays. It amends 38 U.S.C. 1730A to prohibit VA from requiring copayments for hospital care or medical services under certain conditions, notably when the veteran’s payment failure is attributable to VA processing within established timeliness standards. It also caps the period for potential copayments at two years after care if delays are the VA’s fault, and it caps the maximum copayment at $2,000 when the amount results from VA error. Additionally, the bill authorizes the VA Secretary to waive copayments in any case deemed appropriate, even without a veteran requesting a waiver. The overarching goal is to prevent retroactive or retroactively inflated invoices tied to administrative delays and errors. In short, the bill creates a set of protections for veterans against unexpected or oversized copayments tied to VA processing delays, while giving the VA broad discretion to waive copayments in appropriate cases and requiring the VA to operate under timeliness standards for information processing.