# Veterans Access to Direct Primary Care Act

This bill creates a five-year test program that lets veterans choose to get their primary care from private doctors instead of the VA. Here's how it would work: eligible veterans enrolled in the VA system could opt into the program and receive a health savings account funded by the government. They'd use this account to pay for primary care services from private physicians who offer "direct primary care" arrangements—basically subscription-based medical care where you pay a doctor a regular fee to be your primary care provider.

The money in these accounts would cover the subscription fees to private doctors, regular medical services like checkups and preventive care, and prescription medications. The VA would figure out how much money to put in each account based on calculations done with an actuarial service, and veterans would get that full amount every year they participate. However, there's an important trade-off: if a veteran chooses this option, they can't use the VA for primary care services during the time they're in the pilot program. They'd still be enrolled in the VA system overall, but they'd be stepping away from VA primary care specifically.

The program is designed as a test to see if this approach works better for some veterans. The VA would need to report to Congress every three months during the first two years about how the program is being set up, and then submit annual reports on how it's actually performing. The whole pilot program would end after five years. Since the bill says no new money needs to be appropriated, the funding would come from the VA's existing budget for veterans' health care.