Veterans Health Care Freedom Act
The Veterans Health Care Freedom Act would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to run a three-year pilot program aimed at improving veterans’ access to care by letting eligible veterans choose health care providers across both Department of Veterans Affairs facilities and community (non-VA) facilities. The program would operate in at least four Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) across varied rural and urban areas and establish a “covered care system” that includes VA facilities, designated providers, and entities under Veterans Care Agreements. Veterans could elect to receive hospital, medical, and extended care services from any provider within this system, with a focus on enhancing care coordination through a chosen primary care provider and allowing access to specialty and mental health providers as clinically appropriate. After the pilot, the bill envisions some of these provider-choice flexibilities becoming permanent, effectively expanding access to community care and allowing VA facilities and cross-network billing in new ways. The law would require no additional appropriations beyond existing VA funding, place ongoing reporting requirements on implementation and results, and authorize the Secretary to issue regulations to run the program. Notably, it would temporarily remove certain access requirements to receive care at non-VA facilities and would shift how care is coordinated and paid within the covered care system.
Key Points
- 1Establishes a three-year pilot program to give eligible veterans the ability to choose health care providers for hospital, medical, and extended care services within a covered care system that includes VA facilities, VA-designated providers, and Veterans Care Agreements entities.
- 2Requires at least four VISNs to participate in the pilot, chosen to include a mix of rural and urban areas for geographic variety.
- 3Removes certain access-barrier requirements, allowing care at VA facilities regardless of VISN location and enabling non-VA facility care under relevant sections of title 38 without some existing restrictions.
- 4Requires veterans to select a primary care provider to coordinate care, and permits selection of any specialty or mental health provider within the covered care system; allows designation of a specialty provider as a veteran’s primary care provider if clinically appropriate.
- 5Mandates information for veterans about eligibility, cost sharing, treatments, and providers to help informed decision-making, plus coordination systems to support primary care referral and care integration.