H.R. 740: Veterans’ ACCESS Act of 2025
Sponsor
Mike Bost
Republican · IL-12
Bill Progress
Latest Action · Jul 23, 2025
Committee approved bill for floor consideration (Amended) by Voice Vote.
Veterans get a wait-time clock the VA can't move
Why it matters
Right now the VA decides, by its own policy, how long a veteran can be made to wait — 20 days and a 30-minute average drive for primary, mental health, and most extended care; 28 days and 60 minutes for specialty care — before that veteran can get VA-paid care from an outside provider. Because those limits are policy, the VA can loosen them. H.R. 740 writes them into law, bars the VA from counting a telehealth slot as meeting them, and stops the scheduling clock from resetting when the VA cancels on you. It cleared the House Veterans' Affairs Committee by voice vote with 77 cosponsors.
H.R. 740, the Veterans' ACCESS Act of 2025, turns on one question: when does the VA owe you outside care because it can't see you fast enough or close enough? Today the VA answers that with its own access standards. The bill makes those standards statute.
The limits themselves stay familiar. For primary care, mental health, and most extended care, the VA has to be able to offer an appointment within 20 days and a 30-minute average drive. For specialty care, the window is 28 days and 60 minutes. Miss either and a veteran can elect a non-VA provider, with the VA paying.
The bill closes two gaps. The VA can no longer point to an available telehealth visit to claim it met the standard for the in-person care a veteran wants. And if the VA cancels an appointment and reschedules, the wait time counts from the original request date, not the new one — so a cancellation can't quietly restart the clock.
A second half of the bill targets residential mental health and substance use treatment. The VA would have to screen a veteran within 48 hours of a request, admit a priority case within 48 hours of that screening, and — if it can't — offer a bed at a state-licensed, accredited non-VA facility, with transportation covered. Denials and bed-placement delays would get a decision on appeal within 72 hours.
It also orders an online portal where veterans can request appointments, track referrals, and file appeals, plus a three-year pilot in at least five sites letting enrolled veterans get outpatient mental health and substance use care without a referral or pre-authorization.
H.R. 740 Bill Summary
What H.R. 740 actually does.
The VA's wait-time limits become law, not policy
The access standards — 20 days and a 30-minute average drive for primary, mental health, and most extended care; 28 days and 60 minutes for specialty care — would be written into statute rather than left to VA policy the department can revise on its own.
Telehealth can't be counted as meeting the standard
When deciding whether it met the access standards, the VA could not treat an available telehealth appointment as equivalent to the in-person care a veteran is seeking.
A canceled appointment can't restart your clock
If the VA cancels an appointment for any reason other than the veteran's request, the wait time for the replacement is measured from the date of the original request, not the rescheduled date.
48-hour screening for residential mental health care
The VA would have to screen a veteran for residential mental health or substance use treatment within 48 hours of a request, admit priority cases within 48 hours of that screening, and otherwise offer a bed at a state-licensed, accredited non-VA facility.
Paid transportation and faster treatment appeals
Veterans admitted to a covered residential treatment program would have transportation provided or reimbursed, and denials or untimely bed placement would get a decision on appeal within 72 hours.
An online portal and a no-referral care pilot
The VA would build a self-service module for requesting appointments, tracking referrals, and filing appeals, and run a three-year pilot in at least five sites letting enrolled veterans get outpatient mental health and substance use care without a referral or pre-authorization.
Who benefits from H.R. 740?
Veterans far from a VA facility
For someone whose nearest VA option is a long drive, the 30-minute (primary) and 60-minute (specialty) average-drive limits are the trigger to get VA-paid care closer to home — and they'd be fixed in law rather than adjustable by the department.
Veterans in a mental health crisis
A veteran seeking residential treatment would get a screening within 48 hours and, for a priority case, admission within 48 hours of that screening — or a bed at an accredited outside facility, with the trip paid for.
Veterans whose appointments keep getting canceled
When the VA cancels and reschedules, the wait clock would run from the original request date, so repeated cancellations can't push a veteran back out of community-care eligibility.
Community and residential treatment providers
Statutory eligibility triggers and a longer claims window — one year instead of 180 days — make VA referrals and payment more predictable for outside providers.
Who is affected by H.R. 740?
The Department of Veterans Affairs
The VA takes on new duties: notifying veterans of eligibility and of denials within two business days, documenting any agreed-to longer waits, screening for residential treatment within 48 hours, and reporting program data to Congress on a recurring basis.
VA medical centers and networks
Codified standards and mandatory outside referrals when timelines are missed can shift care — and dollars — from VA facilities to community providers, which the bill's required reports are built to measure.
Veterans using VA health care
More veterans would be told, in writing and quickly, when they qualify for outside care, and would gain an online way to request appointments and appeal denials; how appointments are discussed and scheduled would change accordingly.
Congressional oversight committees
The House and Senate Veterans' Affairs committees would receive recurring reports on wait times, community-care volume, appeals, and residential-treatment capacity, plus a GAO review.
HR740 Legislative Journey
House: Vote Held
Jul 23, 2025
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
House: Committee Action
Jan 28, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
About the Sponsor
Mike Bost
Republican, Illinois's 12th congressional district · 11 years in Congress
Committees: Veterans' Affairs, Transportation and Infrastructure, Agriculture
View full profile →
Cosponsors (77)
This bill has 77 cosponsors: 2 Democrats, 77 Republicans. Cosponsors represent 30 states: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, and 27 more.
Jack Bergman
Republican · MI
Abraham Hamadeh
Republican · AZ
Mariannette Miller-Meeks
Republican · IA
Tom Barrett
Republican · MI
Jennifer Kiggans
Republican · VA
Kimberlyn King-Hinds
Republican · MP
Gus Bilirakis
Republican · FL
Gregory Murphy
Republican · NC
Derrick Van Orden
Republican · WI
Scott Franklin
Republican · FL
Sheri Biggs
Republican · SC
Dan Crenshaw
Republican · TX
Committee Sponsors
Veterans' Affairs Committee
12 of 24 committee members cosponsored
2 Republicans across this committee haven't cosponsored yet. Mobilize their constituents
H.R. 740 Quick Facts
- Committee
- Veterans' Affairs
- Chamber
- House
- Policy
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Introduced
- Jan 28, 2025
Committee approved bill for floor consideration (Amended) by Voice Vote.
Jul 23, 2025
Official Sources
The bill's official page, with text, status, cosponsors, and committee action.
VA's current explanation of the 30-minute/20-day and 60-minute/28-day access standards H.R. 740 would write into law.
The program through which veterans get VA-paid care from outside providers when access standards aren't met.
The statute H.R. 740 amends to add two-business-day eligibility and denial notices and a longer provider claims window.
The access-standards section Section 101 rewrites to codify the wait-time and drive-time limits and close the telehealth loophole.
The residential mental health and substance use programs Title II's 48-hour screening and admission timelines would govern.
VA's locator for residential treatment sites — the network the bill would screen veterans into within 48 hours.
The 988-then-press-1 hotline defined in 38 U.S.C. § 1720F(h) and used by the bill to prioritize pilot-program sites.
Who is lobbying on H.R. 740?
1 organization lobbying on this bill
ONWARD MEDICAL, INC. | 1 |
Showing 1-1 of 1 organizations
H.R. 740 Common Questions
When can a veteran get non-VA care because the VA is too slow or too far?
If the VA can't offer an appointment within 20 days and a 30-minute average drive for primary care, mental health, or most extended care — or 28 days and 60 minutes for specialty care — the veteran can choose a non-VA provider, paid by the VA. H.R. 740 writes these limits into law.
Does a VA telehealth appointment count as meeting the wait-time standard?
No. Under H.R. 740, the VA can't point to an available telehealth slot to claim it met the access standards for the in-person care a veteran is seeking. Telehealth stays an option, but it can't be used to deny community-care eligibility.
If the VA cancels my appointment, does my wait-time clock restart?
No. If the VA cancels an appointment for any reason other than your request, the wait time for the replacement is counted from your original request date — not the rescheduled date — so a cancellation can't quietly push you out of community-care eligibility.
Does the VA have to tell me in writing when I qualify for community care?
Yes. H.R. 740 requires the VA to notify a veteran in writing within two business days of becoming aware the veteran is seeking care and is eligible, with periodic reminders of ongoing eligibility. The notice can be sent electronically.
What happens if the VA denies my request for community care?
The VA would have to notify you in writing within two business days, give the reason for the denial, and include instructions for appealing through the Veterans Health Administration's clinical appeals process. If the denial is about access standards, it must explain why.
How fast must the VA screen and admit veterans for residential mental health treatment?
Under H.R. 740, the VA must screen a veteran within 48 hours of a request and, for a priority case, admit within 48 hours of that screening. If it can't, it must offer a bed at a state-licensed, accredited non-VA facility that can admit in time.
Does the VA pay to get me to residential mental health treatment?
Yes. H.R. 740 requires the VA to provide, pay for, or reimburse transportation for a veteran admitted to a covered residential treatment program — both to the facility and back home after the program ends.
Do providers get more time to bill the VA for community care?
Yes. H.R. 740 extends the deadline for health care entities and providers to submit community care claims under the prompt-payment rules from 180 days to one year.
Based on H.R. 740 bill text
H.R. 740 Bill Text
“To improve the provision of care and services under the Veterans Community Care Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.”
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office
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