S. 3033 would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure that each VA medical center has an agreement with a health care provider to improve veterans' access to medical care in rural areas. The bill would authorize VA to waive that requirement for facilities on a case-by-case basis. Finally, the bill would require VA to brief the Congress on the department’s plan for implementing the bill and to submit biennial reports on the operation and performance of those agreements.
According to VA, most of its medical centers have an agreement in place that would satisfy the bill's requirements, and the department expects that only a few facilities would require waivers. In total, satisfying the bill's requirements would cost less than $500,000 over the 2026-2031 period, CBO estimates. Any spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Noah Callahan. The estimate was reviewed by Christina Hawley Anthony, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
