WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), members of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, introduced bipartisan legislation to improve and simplify the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) health care scheduling process.

The Improving Veteran Access to Care Act would create a streamlined scheduling system with the ability to schedule multiple visits and appointments at once through a single phone call or online visit. Currently, veterans do not have access to a centralized scheduling platform and are required to individually contact clinics to coordinate appointments and specialty care.

“I’m proud to work in a bipartisan way to help ensure the VA is providing the resources and care our former servicemembers deserve,” said Boozman. “Creating a one-stop tool for veterans’ medical appointment scheduling will remove inefficiencies and ensure their care is available, accessible and convenient.”

“Our veterans deserve a health care system that respects their time and meets their needs, but the current appointment scheduling process is unnecessarily complex, particularly for rural veterans traveling great distances for care,” said Hassan. “This commonsense, bipartisan legislation will create a one-stop scheduling solution that will make it easier for veterans in New Hampshire and across the country to access the quality care that they’ve earned and deserve.”

Specifically, the Improving Veteran Access to Care Act would require the VA to improve appointment scheduling by:

• Establishing an integrated project team to coordinate with existing VA improvement projects;
• Enabling VA personnel and patients to view available appointments for all VA-based care; 
• Creating a self-service online scheduling platform that allows VA patients to find and schedule VA health care appointments; and 
• Creating a telephone process through which VA patients can make a single call to find and schedule VA health care appointments. 

The legislation is supported by multiple Veterans Service Organizations, including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Military Officers Association of America, and Disabled American Veterans 

“By establishing an integrated project team, the ‘Improving Veteran Access to Care Act’ aims to revolutionize the scheduling process for health care appointments within the Department of Veterans Affairs. This initiative focuses on timely delivery of care, enhanced access, improved customer experience, and greater efficiency, ultimately providing our veterans with the quality care they deserve. DAV would like to thank Senator Maggie Hassan and Senator John Boozman for introducing the ‘Improving Veteran Access to Care Act,’ which creates a team to improve the scheduling process for health care appointments and ensure our veterans receive timely access to care they have earned and urgently need,” said Deputy National Legislative Director for Health for Disabled American Veterans Jon Retzer.