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To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish the period during which the referral of a veteran, made by a health care provider of the Department of Veterans Affairs, to a non-Department provider, for care or services under the Community Care Program of such Department, remains valid.
Summary
This bill would amend federal veterans benefits law to clarify when referral validity periods begin for veterans receiving care through the VA's Community Care Program. Currently, when a VA health care provider refers a veteran to a non-VA provider for care or services, the bill specifies that the validity period of that referral begins on the day the veteran has their first appointment with the non-VA provider, rather than the date the referral was issued. This change would ensure that veterans have a consistent timeframe for completing appointments with outside providers based on when their care with that provider actually starts.
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)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Mariannette Miller-Meeks’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Mariannette Miller-Meeks → · Outside spending →
Actions (3)
- Mar 27, 2025 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. · house
- Mar 10, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. · house
- Mar 10, 2025 Introduced in House
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
March 10, 2025
Mrs. Miller-Meeks introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish the period during which the referral of a veteran, made by a health care provider of the Department of Veterans Affairs, to a non-Department provider, for care or services under the Community Care Program of such Department, remains valid.
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 “Standardizing Treatment and Referral Times Act of 2025” or the “START Act of 2025”.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PERIOD DURING WHICH A REFERRAL UNDER THE COMMUNITY CARE PROGRAM OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS REMAINS VALID.
Section 1703(a)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
“(E) Ensuring that the period during which the referral of a covered veteran, made by a health care provider of the Department of Veterans Affairs, to a non-Department provider, for care or services under this section, is valid, begins on the day that the covered veteran has the first appointment with such non-Department provider.”. <all>
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