Votes on veterans’ care and services bills

Veterans’ Assuring Critical Care Expansions to Support Servicemembers (ACCESS) Act of 2025

• Sets community-care access standards: Veterans could use the Veterans Community Care Program when VA cannot offer primary, mental health, or extended care within 30 minutes’ average driving time and 20 days, or specialty care within 60 minutes and 28 days. The bill would exclude VA telehealth appointments when deciding whether those standards are met
• Changes residential mental-health admissions: VA would use a standardized clinical screening process to determine priority or routine eligibility for covered residential mental-health and substance-use treatment. Priority-eligible veterans would be screened and admitted within 48 hours of the relevant request or eligibility decision; if VA cannot meet the requirements, it would have to offer qualifying care at a non-VA facility
• Adds care notices and appeal options: VA would notify veterans of community-care eligibility and denials within two business days, explain denial reasons and appeal steps, and consider veterans’ care preferences, continuity of care, and need for a caregiver or attendant. VA would also discuss telehealth when it is available, appropriate, and acceptable to the veteran, and providers would have one year to submit claims instead of 180 days

1. Introduced
2. In committee
3. Reported▲ THIS MEETING
4. Passed Senate
5. Passed House
6. Law

What’s next: a floor vote. None is scheduled.