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H.R. 71 119th Congress House

Veterans Health Care Freedom Act

Official title: To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program to improve the ability of veterans to access medical care in medical facilities of the… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program to improve the ability of veterans to access medical care in medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs and in the community by providing the veterans the ability to choose health care providers.

Introduced: January 3, 2025 Introduced by: Andy Biggs Republican · Arizona See on congress.gov
Armed Forces and National Security Congressional oversightHealth care coverage and accessHealth facilities and institutionsHospital careVeterans' medical care
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 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Feb 6, 2025
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Jan 3, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Jan 3, 2025
Introduced in House
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What's happening now February 6, 2025

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Veterans Health Care Freedom Act

This bill requires the Center for Innovation for Care and Payment within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement a three-year pilot program to improve the ability of veterans who are enrolled in the VA health care system to access hospital care, medical services, and extended care services through the covered care system by providing such veterans with the ability to choose health care providers. Under the bill, the covered care system includes VA medical facilities, health care providers participating in the Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP), and eligible entities or providers that have entered into a Veterans Care Agreement.

A veteran participating in the program may elect to receive care at any provider in the covered care system.

The pilot program removes certain requirements (e.g., location of the veteran) to access care at VA and non-VA facilities. After four years, the bill permanently phases out the requirements for accessing care under the VCCP and Veterans Care Agreements and requires the VA to provide such care under the same conditions of the pilot program. Additionally, after four years, veterans may receive care at a VA medical facility regardless of whether the facility is in the same Veterans Integrated Service Network as the veteran.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
 Lobbying activity 9

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

Bodies those filers lobbied

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

See all 9 filings →
 Cosponsors 13
All 13 Republican 13
R
Harris, Mark
North Carolina · Feb 14, 2025
 R
Rulli, Michael A.
Ohio · Feb 4, 2025
 R
Van Drew, Jefferson
New Jersey · Feb 4, 2025
 R
Tiffany, Thomas P.
Wisconsin · Jan 28, 2025
 R
Hageman, Harriet M.
Wyoming · Jan 13, 2025
 R
Buchanan, Vern
Florida · Jan 7, 2025
 R
Miller, Mary E.
Illinois · Jan 7, 2025
 R
Brecheen, Josh
Oklahoma · Jan 3, 2025
 R
Crane, Elijah
Arizona · Jan 3, 2025
 R
Gosar, Paul A.
Arizona · Jan 3, 2025
 R
Luna, Anna Paulina
Florida · Jan 3, 2025
 R
Salazar, Maria Elvira
Florida · Jan 3, 2025
 R
Webster, Daniel
Florida · Jan 3, 2025
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 71: Veterans Health Care Freedom Act. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-71/
MLA
"H.R. 71: Veterans Health Care Freedom Act." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-71/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 71, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-71/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 71: Veterans Health Care Freedom Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-71/)
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