# Making Community Care Work for Veterans Act of 2023
This legislation makes significant improvements to how the Department of Veterans Affairs manages community care—when veterans receive healthcare from providers outside the VA system—and addresses staffing challenges at VA facilities.
**Community Care Improvements:** The bill establishes strict timelines for scheduling appointments, requiring non-urgent appointments to be scheduled within seven days and urgent care appointments to be completed within 48 hours. It tightens access standards, allowing veterans to seek community care if the VA cannot schedule them within 20 days for primary care or 28 days for specialty care, or if providers are more than 30-60 minutes away depending on the service type. The legislation allows veterans and their clinicians to make final decisions about their treatment without VA approval and establishes a self-referral program for certain services like vaccinations and vision care.
**Data and Quality Standards:** The bill requires community care providers to submit performance data to the VA and establishes a "High Compliance" rating program for providers who meet training and documentation requirements. It directs the VA to adopt national standards for sharing health information between VA and community providers and requires reporting on dental care quality and payment rates.
**Staffing and Workforce:** A new "Start and Stay at VA Program" offers scholarships up to $20,000 annually (capped at $80,000 total) and student loan repayment up to $40,000 to medical support staff pursuing further education, in exchange for service commitments. The bill also creates a mentorship program for VA medical center leadership and expands an existing scholarship program.
**Mental Health Services:** The legislation significantly expands requirements for the VA's Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program, requiring faster referral processing, 72-hour admissions for priority cases, standardized appeals procedures, and regular tracking of wait times across all facilities.
**Other Provisions:** The bill requires the VA to create an online portal for CHAMPVA (healthcare for VA families) applications and claims, conduct a feasibility study for establishing care networks in the Philippines, and review dental care approval processes. Implementation timelines vary, with most provisions taking effect within one to two years.
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