Subcommittee forwards five bills en bloc and advances measure to expand promotion opportunities for marriage and family therapists at VA

The subcommittee took unanimous consent to consider five bills en bloc: HR 217, HR 1971, HR 1107, HR 1644 and HR 1860. After no amendments were offered, Ranking Member Brownlee moved to report the five bills favorably to the full committee and the chair stated, “In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it and the bills are favorably forwarded to the full committee.”

Members highlighted specific items in the en bloc. Representative Brownlee noted HR 1644, Representative Underwood’s Co-Pay Fairness for Veterans Act, would waive certain VA co-pays for preventive services and immunizations that private plans have covered under the Affordable Care Act. He also described HR 1860, the women’s veterans cancer care coordination bill co-led by Representative Sylvia Garcia, as aiming to improve VA care coordination for breast and gynecologic cancers. The en bloc included HR 1107, the Protecting Veterans’ Access to Telemedicine Services Act, which would exempt VA prescribers from an in-person exam requirement before prescribing controlled substances — a policy change made permanent that was extended during the COVID pandemic.

Separately, the subcommittee considered HR 6 58, which would address promotion inequities for licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFTs) at VA by allowing promotion eligibility for therapists licensed through a broader set of credentials. Representative Brownlee described the current VA standard as limiting and said the bill would expand opportunities for qualified LMFTs to serve veterans. The subcommittee voted to favorably forward HR 6 58 to the full committee.

No recorded tallies were provided in the transcript for the en bloc and HR 6 58 votes; the chair reported the ayes had it for those motions.