The ACCESS Act Hastens Turning the VA Into an Insurance Company

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HR 740 and S 275, the Veterans' Assuring Critical Care Expansions to Support Servicemembers (ACCESS) Act of 2025, will greatly increase referrals to the Community Care Program (CCP).

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Republicans in Congress are taking steps toward changing VA health care into VA health insurance and these provisions in

HR 740/S 275 move towards further increasing CCP referrals:

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 - It establishes a pilot program allowing veterans to receive outpatient mental health care without VHA referral, pre-authorization, or oversight.

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 - The pilot would expand after 3 years to include all healthcare conditions.

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 - It would not allow the VA to count an available telehealth visit as meeting Community Care Program (CCP) access standards even though the private sector provide may schedule a telehealth visit for the same problem. This increases the number of CCP referrals.

 

 - It would allow veterans to choose private sector care based on their preference and not on CCP access standards. Medicare               Advantage and other insurance programs do offer this.

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      - Instead, people enrolled in insurance programs are either limited to network providers or required to pay substantial financial penalties for going out of network.

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It is clear that this legislation is a thinly veiled attempt to divert public funds to the private sector under the guise of veterans' choice.

 

Survey data shows that over 90 percent of veterans enrolled in VHA prefer to receive their care from it.

Studies show VA care is equal to or better than private-sector care without even considering that the VA is the only entity suited to treat medical and psychological issues specific to military service.

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If the above provisions of this legislation are enacted, veterans will soon be without the ability to choose VHA.

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We urge you to write your senators and representatives and let them know that you, as a veteran, rely on the VA, and ask them to support Senate Bill S275 or House Resolution  HR740.

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Below is a sample of a statement sent to a typical senator's or representatives email via their web site:

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Topic: Veterans

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Subject:  S275 (or HR470), the Veterans’ Assuring Critical Care Expansions to Support Servicemembers (ACCESS) Act of 2025

 

Text: As a Vietnam Veteran and recipient of excellent VA healthcare, I urge you to reject this thinly veiled attempt to divert public funds to the private sector under the guise of veterans’ choice.

This legislation contains three provisions that will gravely undermine the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and harm the millions of veterans it serves. They will destroy the VHA’s wholistic, cost effective, veteran-centered system and make VHA essentially an insurance company, plagued by the failures of the fragmented and broken U.S healthcare system.

If this legislation are enacted, veterans will soon be without the ability to choose VHA. I implore you in the strongest terms to oppose this legislation.