The bill directs the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and implement action plans at covered facilities to share resources, expand cross-credentialing, and improve access for enrolled veterans. It requires formal coordination between DoD and VA leadership, a designated facility liaison, and mechanisms to monitor progress and data integration.
The plan emphasizes staffing and information sharing improvements, while establishing oversight for adverse events and complaints. The measure sunsets on September 30, 2028, and includes a requirement to submit the plans to Congress and hold annual briefings.
Key mechanisms include cross-credentialing and privileging of providers to jointly care for veterans, expedited access for VA staff and enrolled veterans, and integrated information systems to streamline referrals, billing, and workload attribution. It also creates a secure complaint process, tracks safety events, and directs timely investigations where needed, all under a framework approved by DoD and VA leadership.
At a Glance
What It Does
Requires action plans at covered facilities to share resources, expand cross-credentialing, and align care delivery between DoD and VA, with a coordinator and data-monitoring requirements.
Who It Affects
Enrolled veterans treated at DoD and VA facilities, DoD and VA health systems, and care providers who may operate across both systems.
Why It Matters
Establishes a formal mechanism for integrated care, aiming to reduce wait times, improve care continuity, and better utilize capacity across DoD and VA facilities.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The bill directs the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to create action plans at facilities that serve both systems. These plans focus on sharing space, resources, and access to care, and on allowing clinicians to be credentialed and privileged to treat veterans across DoD and VA sites.
Each facility would appoint a lead coordinator to drive implementation, and plans must include timelines, data-sharing improvements, and governance structures to monitor progress.
A central goal is to enable smoother patient journeys by cross-credentialing providers, expediting facility access for VA staff and enrolled veterans, and consolidating records, referrals, and billing processes. The bill requires a secure complaints process and a quarterly review of safety incidents, with violations referred to inspectors general when appropriate.
It also mandates a publicly available list of all sharing agreements and requires regular briefings to Congress with performance data. The authority is temporary, winding down in 2028, unless extended by Congress.
The Five Things You Need to Know
Action plans at covered facilities must include a facility-level lead coordinator to oversee DoD–VA sharing.
Cross-credentialing and privileging are required so providers can care for enrolled veterans across both systems.
A publicly available list of DoD–VA sharing agreements must be maintained.
An oversight framework requires tracking adverse events, safety incidents, and complaints with quarterly reviews.
The section sunsets on September 30, 2028, after which it may be extended or revised by Congress.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
Every bill we cover gets an analysis of its key sections.
Action plans at covered facilities
The bill requires DoD and VA to develop and implement action plans at facilities identified as covered, with goals to share resources, strengthen communication, and increase utilization of facilities with excess capacity. Plans must set clear priorities for cross-system collaboration and patient care integration.
Approval of action plans
Before completion and submission to Congress, action plans must receive formal approval from the Joint Executive Committee co-chairs (DOD/VA), the local installation commander, and the VA medical center director. This ensures executive alignment and accountability at both agencies.
Sharing agreements and leadership
A lead coordinator must be appointed at each facility with a sharing agreement, and the departments must publish a list of all such agreements on a public website to promote transparency and coordination.
Patient safety, complaints, and accountability
The bill requires a secure mechanism for veterans to report care concerns, with confidentiality protections and communication to both agencies. It also requires documentation of adverse events and a quarterly joint review by DoD and VA officials, and it directs referrals to inspectors general for misconduct or abuse.
Submission to Congress
Not later than 30 days after completing the action plans, DoD and VA must submit them to the appropriate congressional committees for review and oversight.
Annual joint briefings
Within one year of submission, DoD and VA must brief Congress on progress, including patient volumes, cross-credentialing counts, and cost reimbursements under the sharing framework, along with recommendations for future action.
Rule of construction
The measure does not require veterans to seek care only at DoD facilities, nor does it change eligibility rules for non-VA providers under current law.
Sunset
The provisions of this section terminate on September 30, 2028, creating a finite window to test and scale the shared-care framework.
Definitions
Key terms are defined to ensure consistent interpretation: covered facility, enrolled veteran, sharing agreement, and the interplay between DoD and VA health care arrangements.
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Explore Healthcare in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Enrolled veterans who receive faster access and more coordinated care at DoD and VA facilities.
- Clinicians who cross-credential or privilege to treat patients across both systems.
- Facility leadership in DoD and VA who gain clearer processes and governance for shared care.
- DoD and VA care teams whose workflows are streamlined through integrated information sharing.
Who Bears the Cost
- Initial and ongoing costs to implement cross-credentialing, IT interoperability, and staff training.
- Administrative and oversight burdens on DoD and VA facilities to manage coordination and data reporting.
- Potential costs associated with maintaining public sharing agreements and related transparency requirements.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is whether a temporary, cross-agency framework can safely and effectively deliver integrated care at scale across DoD and VA facilities, given the competing needs for rapid access, rigorous credentialing, data interoperability, and robust oversight within finite resources.
The bill relies heavily on cross-credentialing and data-sharing across two large, distinct health systems. While this can improve access and continuity of care, it also raises privacy, security, and governance questions about how patient data moves between DoD and VA systems and who bears the liability for cross-system treatments.
The funding and staffing required to implement new workflows, coordinate care across facilities, and sustain data integration could be substantial, particularly given the need for robust oversight, quarterly reviews, and the public posting of sharing agreements. The sunset provision creates a finite window to prove the approach, but also raises questions about longer-term commitment and potential gaps if Congress does not extend the authority.
Operationally, the success of this measure hinges on effective change management at individual facilities, including the adoption of shared IT systems, standardized credentialing, and reliable monitoring of performance goals. Without clear funding, stable interagency collaboration, and consistent patient protections, the plan risks uneven implementation across the DoD and VA network.
The central tension is balancing expanded access and efficiency with the complexity of two separate health systems and their regulatory frameworks.
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