To amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit the collection of a health care copayment by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from a veteran under certain conditions attributable to a failure of the Department of Veterans Affairs to process certain information within applicable timeliness standards, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedAdditional sponsors: Mr. Takano, Mr. Castro of Texas, Mr. Cohen, …
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Mr. Gray introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Mr. Gray introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The STRIVE Act protects veterans from surprise medical debt by limiting when the Department of Veterans Affairs can collect healthcare copayments. If the VA fails to send a billing notice within its own timeliness standards, or if a veteran owes more than $2,000 in total copayments and wasn't properly notified, the VA cannot collect those copayments after two years. The bill also gives the VA Secretary broad authority to waive copayments at their discretion, and extends certain pension payment limits by three months (until February 2032).
Who Benefits and How
Veterans who received VA healthcare benefit significantly. Those who got care more than two years ago but never received a timely bill won't have to pay those old copayments. Veterans who owe more than $2,000 in total copayments because the VA made errors or failed to notify them properly are protected from collection. Any veteran can also potentially benefit from the Secretary's new discretionary waiver authority, which allows copayment forgiveness even without a formal request.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Department of Veterans Affairs loses revenue from uncollected copayments and faces new administrative requirements. VA billing and financial management systems must now track whether notices were sent on time and whether veterans were properly notified about large copayment balances. This creates additional compliance burden and requires more sophisticated information systems. Taxpayers may ultimately bear some cost as the VA's reduced copayment revenue could require additional appropriations to maintain service levels.
Key Provisions
- Prohibits VA from collecting copayments more than 2 years after care was provided if the VA failed to send timely billing notices
- Prohibits collection of copayments exceeding $2,000 if the amount is due to VA errors or failure to notify the veteran
- Sets a $2,000 threshold for aggregate copayments, adjusted annually for inflation using the Consumer Price Index
- Grants the VA Secretary authority to waive any copayment whenever the Secretary deems it appropriate, without requiring a veteran to submit a request
- Extends the sunset date for certain pension payment limits from November 30, 2031 to February 29, 2032
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs from collecting certain copayments from veterans when the VA failed to provide timely notice, and grants the VA Secretary authority to waive copayments.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Protect veterans from surprise medical debt by limiting the VA's ability to collect retroactive copayments when the VA failed to provide timely billing notices"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Veterans with outstanding VA healthcare copayments
- Veterans who received care more than 2 years ago without receiving timely billing
- Veterans owing more than ,000 in aggregate copayments who were not properly notified
Likely Burden Bearers
- Department of Veterans Affairs (reduced revenue from uncollected copayments)
- VA financial management systems (must track notice requirements and waiver decisions)
- Taxpayers (potential increased costs to cover copayment revenue shortfall)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
,000 (adjusted annually by CPI), representing the aggregate copayment amount above which veterans must be notified to avoid prohibition on collection
The period beginning on the date a veteran received hospital care or medical services, after which the VA cannot collect copayments if proper notice was not provided
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology