VA must modernize appointment scheduling within two years
H.R. 6038 — Improving Veteran Access to Care Act · Filed by Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Nov 12, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop and implement a plan within one year to improve how veterans schedule medical appointments. The plan must include a modern online scheduling system, a phone-based scheduling service, and self-service tools that let veterans view available appointments and book them directly for primary care, mental health, and specialty services. The VA must fully implement the plan within two years and report progress to Congress.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a straightforward mandate for the VA to modernize appointment scheduling systems and report on implementation. It is a procedural/operational improvement bill, not a substantive policy change or appropriation.
What the text implies
- The bill ties scheduling improvements to the VA's ongoing Electronic Health Record Modernization Program, which has a history of cost overruns and delays; implementation timelines may slip if EHR deployment lags.
- The requirement to preserve non-digital scheduling options may create parallel systems and operational complexity, potentially increasing costs rather than reducing them.
- No funding mechanism is specified; the bill mandates implementation but does not appropriate funds, leaving the VA to absorb costs from existing budgets or seek supplemental appropriations.
Who it affects
Veterans gain direct access to appointment scheduling tools, reducing wait times and administrative friction. The bill mandates transparency (progress reports) and preserves the option for non-digital scheduling, ensuring no veteran is locked out. The primary beneficiary is the veteran population, a public constituency.
Who stands to gain
- healthcare IT vendors (scheduling software providers)
- VA contractors (system integration and deployment)
Named in the bill
Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Electronic Health Record Modernization Program, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 1 Democrats, 1 Republicans.
- Nov 12, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Nov 12, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Veterans' Affairs · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jul 5, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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