S. 607 · Where this bill is now
In the House
Passed the Senate Dec 18, 2025. Received Dec 19, 2025; no House vote yet
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryImproves how veterans schedule VA health care
This bill asks the VA to set up a team focused on making it easier for veterans to book doctor appointments. The team would develop or improve a system where veterans and VA staff can see what appointments are available, create a way for veterans to call a scheduler for help, and work on other ways to make scheduling better. The team has to coordinate with the VA's electronic health records updates and report back to Congress about its progress.
How it affects you
If you're a veteran using VA health care, this could make it simpler to schedule appointments by giving you clearer visibility into available times and easier phone access to schedulers. The changes don't happen immediately—the VA has to do the work first and report on what it accomplishes.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Feb 18, 2025)
Improving Veteran Access to Care Act
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish an integrated project team to improve the process for scheduling VA health care appointments. Among other objectives, the team must (1) develop or continue the development of a scheduling system and platform that enables personnel and patients of the VA to view available appointments for VA care, (2) create a process through which patients can telephonically speak with a scheduler who can assist in determining availability and scheduling, and (3) carry out other functions with respect to health care appointments furnished by the VA.
In carrying out its objectives, the team must consult and coordinate with the deployment schedule and capabilities of the VA’s Electronic Health Record Modernization Program.
If the VA determines a required objective or any feature or service in connection with an objective cannot be implemented or incorporated, the VA must report to Congress providing an explanation and setting forth a plan without that objective.
The VA must also report to Congress on the progress in fulfilling the team’s objectives under the bill.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 607
AN ACT
Improving Veteran Access to Care Act
Sponsor: Sen. Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH) · Introduced Feb 18, 2025 · Armed Forces and National Security · 3 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Dec 19, 2025: “Held at the desk.”