HR6794-119

What This Bill Does

The VA Medical Center Facility Transparency Act creates a three-year package of operational transparency rules for VA medical centers. VA must ensure that when an enrolled veteran calls a VA facility to schedule hospital care or medical services, the appointment is scheduled during that same call. Each VA medical center director must submit and publicly post annual fact sheets with treatment volume, appointment volume, common conditions, patient satisfaction, facility comparisons, achievements, specialization areas, and unresolved deficiencies, plus quarterly fact sheets with average wait times. When a VA medical center director is detailed to a different VA position, the Secretary must notify the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees within 90 days, appoint an acting director after 120 days, submit updates every 30 days, generally return or replace the director by 180 days, and report waiver extensions.

Who Benefits and How

Enrolled veterans benefit from same-call scheduling that can reduce callbacks and unclear appointment status. Veterans, families, journalists, local advocates, and Congress benefit from public facility fact sheets describing wait times, patient satisfaction, common conditions, improvement work, specialization, and unresolved deficiencies. Congressional veterans committees benefit from timely notice and updates when medical center directors are absent.

Who Bears the Burden and How

VA schedulers and facility staff must schedule during the initial phone call. VA medical center directors must compile, submit, and publicly post annual and quarterly fact sheets. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs must track director details, appoint acting directors, submit 30-day updates, and justify waiver extensions. Facilities may face reputational pressure when fact sheets identify deficiencies.

Key Provisions

• Requires same-call appointment scheduling when enrolled veterans call VA facilities for care or services.
• Requires annual public fact sheets with facility statistics, satisfaction measures, achievements, specializations, and deficiencies.
• Requires quarterly public fact sheets reporting average treatment wait times.
• Requires congressional notification, acting-director appointment, 30-day updates, and time limits when VA directors are detailed away.
• Terminates the new requirements three years after enactment.