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Subcommittee Considers Bill to Bar VA From Collecting Some Late Co‑Pays After System Failures
Summary
The House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee heard testimony on Representative Gray’s Strife Act, which would prohibit the VA from collecting co‑payments when collection delays result from VA error or the department’s systems, and on oversight evidence that past IT outages left veterans facing delayed bills.
Representative Gray (D-Calif.) urged the subcommittee to pass the Strive Act (H.R. 3812), a bill that would bar the Department of Veterans Affairs from collecting co‑payments in cases where the delay in collection was the VA’s fault, including IT outages, pauses in collections and other administrative errors.
"No veteran should pay the cost of administrative failures or face unexpected costs when receiving care," Representative Gray said, arguing the bill shifts the burden of requesting waivers from individual veterans to the government.
The measure would also allow the VA secretary to enter co‑pay waivers on a veteran’s behalf and would protect veterans from bills for care that is more than two years old or debts exceeding $2,000 when the delay stems from department error.
Why it matters: Witnesses and oversight staff told the subcommittee that…
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