H.R. 3812, Stop Troubling Retroactive Invoices for Veterans Expenses Act of 2025

Bill Summary

H.R. 3812 would generally prohibit the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from collecting copayments more than two years after a veteran receives health care services. The bill also would extend a temporary limitation on certain pension payments through February 29, 2032.

Estimated Federal Cost

The estimated budgetary effects of H.R. 3812 are shown in Table 1. The costs of the legislation fall within budget functions 550 (health) and 700 (veterans benefits and services).

Basis of Estimate

For this estimate, CBO assumes that H.R. 3812 will be enacted near the beginning of fiscal year 2026 and that outlays will follow historical spending patterns for affected programs.

Spending Subject to Appropriation

H.R. 3812 would reduce VA’s collections of copayments and thereby increase spending subject to appropriation. Copayments are deposited into the Medical Care Collections Fund and are classified as discretionary offsetting collections (that is, as reductions in discretionary spending).

The bill would prohibit VA from collecting copayments more than two years after a veteran receives care if the department fails to provide timely notification of the veteran’s obligation or if their outstanding balance exceeds $2,000. According to VA, most copayments are billed and paid within two years. On the basis of information about annual collections of copayments, CBO estimates that, under H.R. 3812, those collections would decrease by $1 million annually.

Those forgone copayments, which would be recorded as increases in discretionary spending, would total $10 million over the 2026-2035 period. The authority to collect copayments is subject to the enactment of appropriation legislation.

Direct Spending

H.R. 3812 would extend a temporary limitation on certain VA pension payments. CBO estimates that enacting the bill would decrease net direct spending by $12 million over the 2026-2035 period.

Under current law, VA reduces pension payments to veterans and survivors who reside in Medicaid nursing homes to $90 per month. That required reduction expires November 30, 2031. The bill would extend that reduction for three months, through February 29, 2032. CBO estimates that extending that requirement would reduce VA benefits by $10 million per month. As a result of that reduction in beneficiaries’ income, Medicaid would pay more of the cost of their care, increasing spending for that program by $6 million per month. Thus, enacting the bill would reduce net direct spending by $12 million over the 2026-2035 period.

Pay-As-You-Go Considerations

The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or revenues. The net changes in outlays that are subject to those pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in Table 1.

Increase in Long-Term Net Direct Spending and Deficits

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3812 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2036.

Mandates

The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

Estimate Prepared By

Federal Costs:
Noah Callahan (for veterans’ health care) 
Logan Smith (for pensions and Medicaid)

Mandates: Brandon Lever

Estimate Reviewed By

David Newman
Chief, Defense, International Affairs, and Veterans’ Affairs Cost Estimates Unit

Kathleen FitzGerald
Chief, Public and Private Mandates Unit

Christina Hawley Anthony
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis

Estimate Approved By