# Veterans Improved Access to Care Act of 2021

This bill tackles a real problem at the Veterans Health Administration: it takes way too long to hire doctors, nurses, and other medical providers. Veterans often face long waits for appointments, and one major reason is that the VA struggles to fill open positions quickly. The hiring process can drag on for months, which means vacant positions stay empty longer and veterans get fewer appointments. This bill tries to fix that by speeding up how fast the VA can bring new medical staff on board.

The bill does three main things. First, it requires the VA to start tracking and publicly reporting detailed information about how long their hiring process actually takes. Right now, the VA reports general staffing numbers, but this bill forces them to measure specific things like how many hires take longer than they should and how many days each step of hiring takes. This transparency helps Congress and the public see where the problems are. Second, the bill creates a pilot program at ten VA medical facilities across the country to test ways to speed up the onboarding process—the paperwork and checks that happen after someone gets a job offer but before they actually start working. The goal is to get new doctors and nurses working within 60 days instead of the current longer timeline. These test facilities will be spread across different regions and population sizes, with special focus on rural areas and facilities that are struggling most with staff shortages.

Third, the bill requires the VA to develop a detailed strategy for cutting the entire hiring process in half. This means looking at every step—from posting the job to the new provider's first day—and figuring out what can be streamlined. The VA has to report back to Congress within six months with a concrete plan. For veterans, the practical impact is straightforward: faster hiring means more doctors and nurses available sooner, which should translate to shorter wait times for appointments and better access to care. The pilot program will test whether these changes actually work before potentially rolling them out across the entire VA system.

Veterans Improved Access to Care Act of 2021

Crow, Jason

Veterans Improved Access to Care Act of 2021 This bill addresses the administration of the hiring process for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) personnel. Under current law, the VA is required to publish on a VA website specified information related to staffing and the duration of the hiring process for certain health care appointees, such as physicians. The bill requires the VA Office of Inspector General to review the administration of such website annually instead of the current semiannual requirement. The VA must implement a two-year pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of expediting the Veterans Health Administration's onboarding process for new medical providers. Finally, the bill requires the VA to submit a strategy to reduce by half the duration of the VA's hiring process for licensed professional medical providers.