Veterans Community Care Scheduling Improvement Act

Key Points

• The bill requires the VA to build a new online scheduling system within one year. VA staff will use it to search, sort, and book appointments for veterans with private doctors participating in the Veterans Community Care Program.
• The system lets VA schedulers view, search, and sort available appointments by type of care, location, and date, and send referral or authorization paperwork directly to private providers — streamlining what is currently a slower, more manual process.
• Private healthcare providers must voluntarily opt in to the system. Within 90 days of enactment, the VA must launch an outreach campaign and a public website explaining how providers can participate.
• The VA must report to Congress every six months on the program's performance, including how many private providers are participating and how many appointments are booked through the new system versus the old process. The program automatically expires after seven years.