H.R. 8199

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8199 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8199

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a 
comprehensive standard for timing between referrals and appointments 
for care from the Department of Veterans Affairs and to submit a report 
with respect to that standard, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 6, 2026

Mr. Scott Franklin of Florida (for himself, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Patronis, 
and Mr. Moylan) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a 
comprehensive standard for timing between referrals and appointments 
for care from the Department of Veterans Affairs and to submit a report 
with respect to that standard, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Scheduling for Community Health and 
Easy Data to Understand for Legislators to Evaluate Services Act of 
2026'' or the ``SCHEDULES Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE STANDARD FOR TIMING BETWEEN 
REFERRAL AND APPOINTMENT FOR CARE FROM DEPARTMENT OF 
VETERANS AFFAIRS.

(a) Establishment of Standard.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
establish a comprehensive standard for timing between the date 
on which a referral for care for a veteran under the laws 
administered by the Secretary is entered into the care 
coordination system of the Department of Veterans Affairs and 
the date on which an appointment for care for the veteran 
occurs, whether at a facility of the Department or through care 
in the community.
(2) Modification.--The Secretary may modify the standard 
established under paragraph (1) as the appointment scheduling 
processes of the Department for care at a facility of the 
Department or through care in the community are updated.
(3) Publication.--Not later than 30 days before 
establishing under paragraph (1) or modifying under paragraph 
(2) the comprehensive standard required under this subsection, 
the Secretary shall publish such standard in the Federal 
Register and on a publicly available internet website of the 
Department.
(b) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not less frequently than quarterly, the 
Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the number and 
percentage of referrals from the Department to facilities of 
the Department or providers in the community that meet the 
standard under subsection (a).
(2) Elements.--Each report submitted under paragraph (1) 
shall include the following:
(A) The number and percentage of total referrals 
from each facility of the Department that meet, for the 
quarter covered by the report--
(i) the standard under subsection (a);
(ii) with respect to referrals to a 
facility of the Department, the three-business-
day standard for scheduling an appointment at a 
facility of the Department; and
(iii) with respect to referrals for care in 
the community, the seven-calendar-day standard 
for scheduling an appointment for care in the 
community.
(B) The number and percentage of referrals from 
each facility of the Department that meet each of the 
standards specified in subparagraph (A), disaggregated 
by each of the five, or more, most in-demand categories 
of care provided at such facility (such as mental 
health, cardiology, neurology, oncology, etc.).
(C) A list of all medical centers of the Department 
ranked from best to worst in meeting the standard under 
subsection (a), including a disaggregated list by 
State.
(3) Annually included information.--Not less frequently 
than annually, the Secretary shall include in the report 
required under paragraph (1)--
(A) aggregated data for the four-quarter period 
preceding the date of the report; and
(B) a description of steps taken by the Department 
to improve the timeliness of the provision of care by 
the Department and an estimate of when the Department 
will be fully compliant with the standard under 
subsection (a).
(4) Public availability.--The Secretary shall make each 
report required under paragraph (1) publicly available on a 
website of the Veterans Health Administration.
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