Sens. Moran, Fischer Introduce Legislation to Expand VA’s External Provider Scheduling Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) - ranking member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee - and Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) recently introduced legislation that would allow the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to view the schedules of healthcare providers participating in the Veterans Community Care Program and schedule appointments for care and services in real time.

This legislation would enable the VA to expand its use of the External Provider Scheduling (EPS) Program to schedule community care appointments within the Veterans Integrated Service Network and help reduce the time it takes for appointments to be scheduled.

"I have been monitoring the successful rollout of the EPS program and am encouraged by initial results showing faster scheduling of critical health care appointments for veterans," said Sen. Moran. "Veterans should be able to access the care they need as quickly and as close to home as possible. This legislation will enable VA to move forward with this important program to increase access to timely care for veterans everywhere."

"Our veterans' needs should come first, and the EPS bill will make sure those needs are met in rural areas," said Sen. Fischer. "It will harness new technology to improve care coordination between the VA and rural providers, streamlining the scheduling process for veterans. I look forward to working with my colleagues to take care of our veterans by passing this legislation."

In the first two of three planned phases, EPS has led community care scheduling to become 65% faster, and scheduler productivity has increased from seven appointments a day to more than 20.

The full text of the legislation can be found here.