HR6595-119

What This Bill Does

This bill requires the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and implement action plans at covered facilities so veterans can receive more care at military medical treatment facilities that have excess capacity or space. The plans must strengthen existing DoD-VA resource sharing, improve communication between VA and military treatment facility leadership, increase use of excess military medical capacity, increase case volume and complexity for DoD and VA graduate medical education programs, and improve access for enrolled veterans near covered military facilities. Required plan elements include cross-credentialing and privileging of providers, expedited DoD installation access for VA staff and enrolled veterans, a facility coordinator, performance goals and data collection, integrated information technology for medical records, referrals, orders, results, payment, billing, and workload attribution, and an oversight plan for adverse events and complaints. The bill requires approval by the DoD-VA Joint Executive Committee co-chairs, local installation commanders, and relevant VA medical center directors; public posting of sharing agreements; a secure complaint mechanism protecting confidentiality and prohibiting retaliation; quarterly joint review of complaints and adverse events; Inspector General referrals for abuse, neglect, or misconduct; action-plan submission to Congress within 30 days; and a one-year briefing with patients served, providers credentialed, costs, reimbursements, wait times, quality, patient satisfaction, complaints, and safety incidents.

Who Benefits and How

Enrolled veterans benefit if unused military medical capacity becomes an additional care pathway, particularly in areas where VA access is constrained but a military treatment facility has space. Military medical treatment facilities and graduate medical education programs benefit from higher case volume and complexity, which can support training and readiness. VA and DoD providers may benefit from clearer credentialing, referral, medical-record, billing, and workload systems when they treat patients across department lines.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, covered facility coordinators, military installation commanders, VA medical center directors, health IT teams, billing offices, and oversight staff bear large implementation burdens. They must negotiate and approve facility plans, cross-credential providers, manage installation access, integrate medical-record and referral systems, track performance goals, post sharing agreements, run a confidential complaint channel, review adverse events quarterly, refer misconduct allegations to Inspectors General, and report implementation details to Congress. Providers may face added credentialing, documentation, and cross-system workflow requirements.

Key Provisions

• Requires DoD and VA action plans at covered facilities to use excess military medical capacity and improve enrolled veterans access to care.
• Requires cross-credentialing, expedited installation access, facility coordinators, performance monitoring, health IT integration, billing processes, and workload attribution.
• Requires public posting of DoD-VA sharing agreements and secure complaint mechanisms that protect confidentiality and prohibit retaliation.
• Requires quarterly review of complaints and adverse events plus Inspector General referrals for abuse, neglect, or misconduct allegations.
• Requires plans to Congress within 30 days and a one-year briefing on patients served, providers credentialed, costs, wait times, quality, satisfaction, complaints, and safety incidents.