Women Veterans Specialty Care Access Act

Key Points

• This bipartisan bill, introduced by Sens. Blackburn and Hassan, would let women veterans schedule specialty care appointments directly — without needing a referral from a VA primary care doctor first.
• The specialty care covered by the bill includes gynecology, obstetrics, maternity care, and postpartum care — the core types of healthcare specific to women.
• Women veterans could book these appointments through VA medical centers, clinics, phone, online scheduling tools, or any other method the VA uses for specialty care scheduling.
• The bill explicitly bans the VA from adding any extra approval steps, referrals, or screenings as a condition for women veterans to access this care.
• The bill applies to women veterans enrolled in the VA's patient enrollment system who are already eligible for women's specialty care — it does not expand who qualifies, just removes barriers to scheduling.