Combat Veterans Pre-Enrollment Act of 2025
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Combat Veterans Pre-Enrollment Act tells the Department of Veterans Affairs to stand up a program by October 1, 2027 that lets eligible members of the Armed Forces pre-enroll in the VA annual patient enrollment system before separation. The eligible group is active service members whom VA determines would qualify for enrollment at separation and who fall within the combat-theater or combat-service eligibility category in 38 U.S.C. 1710(e)(1)(D). The election must be available during the 180-day period before separation. VA must coordinate the mechanism with the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security, and the VA-DOD Joint Executive Committee must report to the veterans affairs committees within 180 days and annually while the program runs.
Who Benefits and How
Separating combat veterans benefit because they can line up VA health enrollment before discharge instead of waiting until after active service ends. VA clinicians and enrollment staff benefit indirectly from cleaner transition data and less last-minute enrollment friction. Families of separating service members benefit if care continuity improves during the transition from military health systems to VA care.
Who Bears the Burden and How
VA enrollment offices must build and administer the pre-enrollment mechanism, determine eligibility, coordinate with Defense and Homeland Security transition systems, and support annual reporting. Defense transition offices and Homeland Security components with covered service members must share or coordinate service-status information. Federal taxpayers bear the implementation cost of the pilot and related reporting work.
Key Provisions
- Requires VA to establish a pre-enrollment program by October 1, 2027 for certain separating service members.
- Allows eligible active service members to elect VA annual patient enrollment during the 180 days before separation.
- Directs VA to coordinate the enrollment mechanism with Defense and Homeland Security.
- Requires VA-DOD Joint Executive Committee reports within 180 days and annually during the program.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Creates a VA pre-enrollment pilot so certain separating combat veterans can elect annual VA patient enrollment during the 180 days before leaving active service, with VA coordinating the enrollment mechanism with Defense and Homeland Security and reporting implementation through the VA-DOD Joint Executive Committee.
Key Policy Areas
Veterans Affairs, Defense, Health Care
Primary Purpose
Creates a VA pre-enrollment pilot so certain separating combat veterans can elect annual VA patient enrollment during the 180 days before leaving active service, with VA coordinating the enrollment mechanism with Defense and Homeland Security and reporting implementation through the VA-DOD Joint Executive Committee.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Separating combat veterans
- VA enrollment offices
- Families of separating service members
Identified Costs
- Department of Veterans Affairs enrollment staff
- Department of Defense transition offices
- Department of Homeland Security service components
- Federal taxpayers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Mrs. Kim (for herself, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Ciscomani, Ms. Tokuda, …
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Department of Homeland Security service components, Department of Veterans Affairs enrollment staff
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
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