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Copay Fairness for Veterans Act
To amend title 38, United States Code, to eliminate copayments by the Department of Veterans Affairs for medicines relating to preventive health services, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill would eliminate copayments for medications and services related to preventive health care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Preventive health services would be defined to include items and services rated "A" or "B" by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, immunizations recommended by the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and for women, preventive care and screenings per Health Resources and Services Administration guidelines, as well as any FDA-approved contraceptive and related services. Veterans would no longer be liable for copayments on preventive medications, hospital care, or medical services falling under this definition. The bill incorporates definitions of preventive services from multiple federal health organizations to establish which services qualify for the copayment elimination. The changes would apply to preventive health services furnished by the VA.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
5 cosponsors
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Lauren Underwood’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO $33,465
- NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY $26,150
- BLUE SHIELD OF CALIFORNIA $18,100
- CORNERSTONE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS $16,800
- CLIFFORD LAW OFFICES $13,200
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Lauren Underwood → · Outside spending →
Actions (5)
- Mar 25, 2025 Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote. · house
- Mar 25, 2025 Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held · house
- Mar 10, 2025 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. · house
- Feb 27, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. · house
- Feb 27, 2025 Introduced in House
More bills on these subjects (8)
Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 27, 2025
Ms. Underwood (for herself, Mr. Moulton, Mrs. Hayes, and Ms. Norton) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to eliminate copayments by the Department of Veterans Affairs for medicines relating to preventive health services, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Copay Fairness for Veterans Act”.
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT TO PREVENTIVE HEALTH SERVICES FURNISHED BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) Elimination of Medication Copayments.—Section 1722A(a)(3) of title 38, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (C), by striking “or”;
(2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; or”; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
“(E) to medication that is or is part of a preventive health service.”.
(b) Elimination of Hospital Care and Medical Services Copayments.— Section 1710 of such title is amended—
(1) in subsection (f)—
(A) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph
(6); and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new paragraph (5):
“(5) A veteran shall not be liable to the United States under this subsection for any amounts for preventive health services.”; and
(2) in subsection (g)(3), by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
“(C) Preventive health services.”.
(c) Definition.—Section 1701(9) of such title is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (K), by striking “; and” and inserting a semicolon;
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (L) as subparagraph (O); and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (K) the following new subparagraphs:
“(L) evidence-based items or services that have in effect a rating of ‘A’ or ‘B’ in the current recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force;
“(M) immunizations that have in effect a recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with respect to the individual involved;
“(N) with respect to services for women—
“(i) the preventive care, screenings, and contraceptives provided for in the Health Resources and Services Administration Preventive Services Guidelines in effect as of December 30, 2022; and
“(ii) any contraceptive approved, granted, or cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, any related contraceptive care, and any related services; and”. <all>
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