Steil joins GOP colleagues to offer bill extending non-VA hospital notification time for veterans

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) on June 17 joined more than a dozen of his Republican colleagues to introduce a bill that would give United States military veterans an extended amount of time to notify the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) if they used a non-VA hospital admission for emergency care.

“Federal red tape should never get in the way of veterans’ health care needs,” Rep. Steil said. By extending the VA notification period, veterans can focus on their health rather than bureaucracy at the VA or the costs of their hospital stay. 

Under current law, veterans who are admitted to a non-VA hospital for an emergency visit are required to notify the VA within 72 hours of their stay for reimbursement, according to information provided by Rep. Steil’s office. If a veteran does not notify the VA within the 72-hour timeframe, any costs associated with the hospitalization will be automatically denied by the VA.

The Addressing Care Timelines (ACT) for Veterans Act, H.R. 3994, which Rep. Steil cosponsored with 12 other original cosponsors, would extend the notification period from 72 hours to 96 hours, giving veterans four full days to alert the VA of their non-VA emergency care hospital stay.

H.R. 3994, which is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH), includes GOP cosponsors U.S. Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH), Troy Balderson (R-OH), Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), John Joyce (R-PA), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), and Brad Wenstrup (R-OH). 

“I am committed to ensuring the VA works for southeast Wisconsin’s 45,000 veterans,” said Rep. Steil. “I will continue working with my colleagues to help veterans obtain the benefits they’ve earned, and work to increase access to health care and mental health resources for veterans and their families.”