New SERVE Act Mandates VA and DOD Share Medical Resources, Boosting Veteran Care Access Until 2028

The new Sharing Essential Resources for Veterans Everywhere Act (SERVE Act) is pretty straightforward: it mandates that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) finally get serious about sharing medical resources. This isn't just a suggestion; the bill requires both departments to create and implement detailed action plans to strengthen resource sharing, specifically targeting military facilities that have extra space or capacity to serve veterans. It’s an efficiency play designed to cut down on wait times and expand access to care, and the requirements are set to run until September 30, 2028.

The Plan: Cross-Training and IT Integration

These mandated action plans need to cover a lot of ground, focusing on operational details that actually impact patient care. For instance, the bill requires cross-credentialing of health care providers, meaning a provider could work seamlessly at both a VA hospital and a military base clinic. Think of it like getting licensed to practice in two states at once, but for two federal agencies. They also have to integrate their Information Technology systems for sharing medical records, billing, and tracking workloads—a massive, but crucial, undertaking that could finally make medical history follow the patient instead of staying locked in separate systems. Crucially, the plan must also include expedited base access for VA staff and enrolled veterans, removing the bureaucratic hurdle of getting onto a military installation just to see a doctor.

What This Means for Veterans on the Ground

If you’re a veteran living near a military installation, this bill could be a game-changer for access. Instead of driving hours to the nearest VA Medical Center, you might be able to get specialized care at an underused DOD facility just down the road. The bill explicitly aims to increase veterans' access to care in areas where a military facility has excess capacity. For example, if a military hospital has an orthopedic surgeon with an open schedule, a veteran needing that service could be referred there, provided the action plan is working. It also requires the departments to increase the complexity of cases they handle for medical education, which means better training for future military and VA doctors.

Guardrails and Oversight

The SERVE Act includes important safety checks. First, it makes clear that the departments cannot force a veteran to seek care at a DOD facility—it’s about increasing options, not restricting choice. Second, every action plan must be approved by the local military installation commander and the VA medical center director, ensuring local buy-in before anything is implemented. The bill also mandates a secure, confidential process for veterans to report concerns about care, with all complaints and safety incidents requiring joint review every three months. This focuses on accountability, ensuring that if something goes wrong, it gets addressed quickly and jointly by both agencies. Any serious misconduct must be promptly referred to the Inspectors General of both departments.

The Fine Print: What Could Get Tricky

While the goal is fantastic—better care through better coordination—the devil is always in the execution. Integrating the IT systems of two massive federal bureaucracies is notoriously difficult and expensive, and if it fails, it could actually make things worse before they get better. Also, the bill gives the Secretaries of the VA and DOD some broad latitude, allowing them to include “Any other matters the Secretaries consider appropriate” in the action plans. While this flexibility could be useful, it also means the final plans could include unexpected administrative requirements. Ultimately, this bill is a mandate for efficiency that puts the onus on the VA and DOD to figure out the logistics, and Congress will be watching, requiring a joint briefing one year in to review the number of patients served, costs incurred, and progress on IT integration.