Demand Universal Medicare Parity for VA-Enrolled Veterans
The Issue
Veterans are facing severe care delays, long travel times, and an overburdened VA system—even as 17+ Veterans are lost to suicide every day.
While military families under CHAMPVA can see any doctor that accepts Medicare, the Veterans who served are locked into a narrow, contractor-managed network. We are petitioning Congress to enact Universal Medicare Parity, allowing enrolled Veterans to take their earned healthcare coverage to ANY local doctor, clinic, or tele-health therapist that accepts Medicare.
This simple change unlocks nationwide access overnight, saves taxpayers $3.36 Billion in Year 1 by cutting middleman contractor fees, and ensures no Veteran is forced to wait months for life-saving medical or mental health care.
PETITION TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE ENACTMENT OF UNIVERSAL MEDICARE PARITY FOR VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION ENROLLEES
Pursuant to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution — Right to Petition the Government for Redress of Grievances
TO THE HONORABLE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: To the Speaker of the House of Representatives; The President Pro Tempore of the Senate; The Chairs and Ranking Members of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs and Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs; and the Members of the United States Congress.
I. PREAMBLE & STATEMENT OF PETITION
WE, THE UNDERSIGNED CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES, including Veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States, military families, surviving spouses, and concerned patriotic citizens, respectfully exercise our constitutional right under Article I and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution to petition the Congress for legislative redress.
We petition Congress to enact legislative amendments to Title 38 of the United States Code establishing Universal Medicare Parity for Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Enrollees. This statutory reform will guarantee that any Veteran enrolled in VHA healthcare is legally authorized to receive covered medical care, mental health counseling, urgent treatment, and prescription services from any private or community healthcare provider, clinic, hospital, or tele-health service that is actively enrolled in and accepts Medicare—under the exact same flexible care-access model currently provided to military dependents under CHAMPVA.
II. FINDINGS OF FACT & THE CRITICAL ACCESS CRISIS
Congress must address an unsustainable operational and financial breakdown within the Department of Veterans Affairs:
Unprecedented Enrollee Surge: Following the enactment of the PACT Act, VHA enrollment has expanded at its fastest rate in history, adding over 739,000 new Veterans since late 2022, including over 200,000 new sign-ups in early 2026 alone. Over 4.2 million Veterans are now newly eligible for toxic-exposure healthcare.
Failure of Brick-and-Mortar Scaling: The VA's physical infrastructure cannot scale quickly enough to meet demand. The average timeline to construct or expand a VA facility is 5 to 8 years, while the VA's annual non-recurring facility maintenance backlog exceeds $4.8 Billion.
Third-Party Administrator (TPA) Bottlenecks: Non-VA care is currently restricted by commercial middleman networks (Optum and TriWest). These Third-Party Administrators siphon off hundreds of millions in administrative overhead while creating severe credentialing delays, narrow local networks, and restrictive referral hurdles.
The Geographic & Travel Tax: Over 1.8 million rural Veterans face drives of 1.5 to 2 hours each way to reach regional VA facilities, draining over $1.1 Billion annually from the federal budget strictly for Beneficiary Travel reimbursements.
III. THE PROPOSED LEGISLATIVE SOLUTION
We urge Congress to enact statutory reforms containing four foundational policy pillars:
The "Any Willing Provider" Statutory Rule Amend Title 38 to establish that active Medicare credentialing automatically qualifies any civilian doctor, specialist, walk-in clinic, or hospital to treat VHA-enrolled Veterans. This eliminates Third-Party Administrator network barriers and instantly unlocks hundreds of thousands of local medical practices nationwide.
Direct CMS Billing Rails & Reimbursement Parity Mandate that all community Veteran healthcare claims be reimbursed directly via established Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Fee Schedules. Transitioning claims processing from commercial TPAs to standard CMS rails reduces administrative middleman overhead from ~10–12% down to standard federal rates of ~1.5–2%.
Urgent Care & Prescription Integration Allow Veterans immediate access to any Medicare-participating urgent care center or walk-in clinic, diverting routine acute cases away from overburdened hospital Emergency Rooms (saving $1,500–$3,000 per avoided ER visit). Grant local retail pharmacy fulfillment for acute 14-to-30-day prescriptions, while maintaining the central VA Mail-Order Pharmacy for long-term maintenance medications to preserve federal bulk-purchasing discounts.
Universal Tele-Mental Health & Cross-State Authority Grant federal interstate practice authority to any Medicare-enrolled mental health professional delivering virtual therapy to Veterans. Authorize direct Veteran self-referral for non-prescribing mental health therapy, removing primary care gatekeepers and connecting Veterans to care within days rather than months.
CRITICAL HUMANITARIAN IMPACT: ENDING THE MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS
Over 1.7 million living Veterans receive service-connected disability for mental health conditions, with over 1.3 million diagnosed with combat PTSD. Yet, VA suicide tracking shows over 17 Veterans lost per day to suicide—with 61% having received no VHA care in their final year due to disengagement or access barriers. Direct self-referral to local and virtual Medicare therapists removes fatal appointment delays during acute crisis windows.
IV. MASTER FINANCIAL & FISCAL COMPARISON
Universal Medicare Parity is a fiscally responsible model that shifts federal funding from fixed capital overhead into flexible, pay-as-you-go healthcare delivery:
Capital Construction (Per 350k Vets):
Status Quo costs $1.8B–$2.5B in new clinic buildouts.
Proposed System costs $0.00 by leveraging private infrastructure.
Impact: 100% Capital Conservation.
Fixed Payroll & Benefits:
Status Quo costs $1.4B/year in permanent salaries & FERS benefits.
Proposed System costs $0.00 in fixed payroll (variable pay-as-you-go funding).
Impact: Converts fixed liabilities into flexible care.
TPA / Middleman Overhead:
Status Quo pays ~$210M–$252M/year to contractors.
Proposed System pays ~$31.5M–$42M/year via direct CMS rails.
Impact: ~$168M–$210M Direct Annual Administrative Savings.
Beneficiary Travel Costs:
Status Quo costs ~$67.5M/year per 100k rural Vets. Proposed System costs ~$2.76M/year per 100k rural Vets.
Impact: 86% Travel Cost Reduction ($64.7M saved per 100k Vets).
Total Year-1 Expenditure: Status Quo costs ~$5.50 Billion.
Proposed System costs ~$2.14 Billion.
Impact: ~$3.36 Billion (61%) Year-1 Overall Savings.
V. SOCIO-ECONOMIC ADVANTAGES: ENDING GEOGRAPHIC CAPTIVITY
The current network model imposes an invisible "Geographic Tax" on disabled Veterans, forcing low-income and disabled Veterans to remain living in expensive urban centers surrounding major VA hospitals just to maintain specialist care.
Housing Freedom: Universal Medicare Parity gives Veterans the mobility to relocate to low-cost rural areas or supportive family communities without risking their medical access.
Federal Voucher Savings: Enabling Veterans to move from inflated urban housing markets reduces federal HUD-VASH housing voucher subsidies by $15,000 to $24,000 per year, per housed Veteran.
Preserving VA Centers of Excellence: This proposal explicitly protects the VA's core strengths, designating specialized combat care—Polytrauma, Amputation/Prosthetics, Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), Blind Rehabilitation, and TBI—as core VA "Centers of Excellence" that remain fully funded in-house.
VI. PRAYER FOR RELIEF & CONGRESSIONAL ACTION
WHEREFORE, your Petitioners respectfully pray that the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs draft, introduce, and enact legislation titled the "Veterans Healthcare Freedom and Medicare Parity Act" to amend Title 38 of the United States Code; repeal restrictive Third-Party Administrator network mandates; authorize direct Medicare parity for all VHA enrollees; and grant our nation's defenders the immediate, local, and dignified healthcare access they have earned through their service and sacrifice.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
Michael Timothy Ryan
United States Navy Veteran (Seabee)
Parrish, Florida
Lead Petitioner on Behalf of Enrolled Veterans Nationwide
1
The Issue
Veterans are facing severe care delays, long travel times, and an overburdened VA system—even as 17+ Veterans are lost to suicide every day.
While military families under CHAMPVA can see any doctor that accepts Medicare, the Veterans who served are locked into a narrow, contractor-managed network. We are petitioning Congress to enact Universal Medicare Parity, allowing enrolled Veterans to take their earned healthcare coverage to ANY local doctor, clinic, or tele-health therapist that accepts Medicare.
This simple change unlocks nationwide access overnight, saves taxpayers $3.36 Billion in Year 1 by cutting middleman contractor fees, and ensures no Veteran is forced to wait months for life-saving medical or mental health care.
PETITION TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE ENACTMENT OF UNIVERSAL MEDICARE PARITY FOR VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION ENROLLEES
Pursuant to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution — Right to Petition the Government for Redress of Grievances
TO THE HONORABLE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: To the Speaker of the House of Representatives; The President Pro Tempore of the Senate; The Chairs and Ranking Members of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs and Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs; and the Members of the United States Congress.
I. PREAMBLE & STATEMENT OF PETITION
WE, THE UNDERSIGNED CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES, including Veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States, military families, surviving spouses, and concerned patriotic citizens, respectfully exercise our constitutional right under Article I and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution to petition the Congress for legislative redress.
We petition Congress to enact legislative amendments to Title 38 of the United States Code establishing Universal Medicare Parity for Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Enrollees. This statutory reform will guarantee that any Veteran enrolled in VHA healthcare is legally authorized to receive covered medical care, mental health counseling, urgent treatment, and prescription services from any private or community healthcare provider, clinic, hospital, or tele-health service that is actively enrolled in and accepts Medicare—under the exact same flexible care-access model currently provided to military dependents under CHAMPVA.
II. FINDINGS OF FACT & THE CRITICAL ACCESS CRISIS
Congress must address an unsustainable operational and financial breakdown within the Department of Veterans Affairs:
Unprecedented Enrollee Surge: Following the enactment of the PACT Act, VHA enrollment has expanded at its fastest rate in history, adding over 739,000 new Veterans since late 2022, including over 200,000 new sign-ups in early 2026 alone. Over 4.2 million Veterans are now newly eligible for toxic-exposure healthcare.
Failure of Brick-and-Mortar Scaling: The VA's physical infrastructure cannot scale quickly enough to meet demand. The average timeline to construct or expand a VA facility is 5 to 8 years, while the VA's annual non-recurring facility maintenance backlog exceeds $4.8 Billion.
Third-Party Administrator (TPA) Bottlenecks: Non-VA care is currently restricted by commercial middleman networks (Optum and TriWest). These Third-Party Administrators siphon off hundreds of millions in administrative overhead while creating severe credentialing delays, narrow local networks, and restrictive referral hurdles.
The Geographic & Travel Tax: Over 1.8 million rural Veterans face drives of 1.5 to 2 hours each way to reach regional VA facilities, draining over $1.1 Billion annually from the federal budget strictly for Beneficiary Travel reimbursements.
III. THE PROPOSED LEGISLATIVE SOLUTION
We urge Congress to enact statutory reforms containing four foundational policy pillars:
The "Any Willing Provider" Statutory Rule Amend Title 38 to establish that active Medicare credentialing automatically qualifies any civilian doctor, specialist, walk-in clinic, or hospital to treat VHA-enrolled Veterans. This eliminates Third-Party Administrator network barriers and instantly unlocks hundreds of thousands of local medical practices nationwide.
Direct CMS Billing Rails & Reimbursement Parity Mandate that all community Veteran healthcare claims be reimbursed directly via established Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Fee Schedules. Transitioning claims processing from commercial TPAs to standard CMS rails reduces administrative middleman overhead from ~10–12% down to standard federal rates of ~1.5–2%.
Urgent Care & Prescription Integration Allow Veterans immediate access to any Medicare-participating urgent care center or walk-in clinic, diverting routine acute cases away from overburdened hospital Emergency Rooms (saving $1,500–$3,000 per avoided ER visit). Grant local retail pharmacy fulfillment for acute 14-to-30-day prescriptions, while maintaining the central VA Mail-Order Pharmacy for long-term maintenance medications to preserve federal bulk-purchasing discounts.
Universal Tele-Mental Health & Cross-State Authority Grant federal interstate practice authority to any Medicare-enrolled mental health professional delivering virtual therapy to Veterans. Authorize direct Veteran self-referral for non-prescribing mental health therapy, removing primary care gatekeepers and connecting Veterans to care within days rather than months.
CRITICAL HUMANITARIAN IMPACT: ENDING THE MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS
Over 1.7 million living Veterans receive service-connected disability for mental health conditions, with over 1.3 million diagnosed with combat PTSD. Yet, VA suicide tracking shows over 17 Veterans lost per day to suicide—with 61% having received no VHA care in their final year due to disengagement or access barriers. Direct self-referral to local and virtual Medicare therapists removes fatal appointment delays during acute crisis windows.
IV. MASTER FINANCIAL & FISCAL COMPARISON
Universal Medicare Parity is a fiscally responsible model that shifts federal funding from fixed capital overhead into flexible, pay-as-you-go healthcare delivery:
Capital Construction (Per 350k Vets):
Status Quo costs $1.8B–$2.5B in new clinic buildouts.
Proposed System costs $0.00 by leveraging private infrastructure.
Impact: 100% Capital Conservation.
Fixed Payroll & Benefits:
Status Quo costs $1.4B/year in permanent salaries & FERS benefits.
Proposed System costs $0.00 in fixed payroll (variable pay-as-you-go funding).
Impact: Converts fixed liabilities into flexible care.
TPA / Middleman Overhead:
Status Quo pays ~$210M–$252M/year to contractors.
Proposed System pays ~$31.5M–$42M/year via direct CMS rails.
Impact: ~$168M–$210M Direct Annual Administrative Savings.
Beneficiary Travel Costs:
Status Quo costs ~$67.5M/year per 100k rural Vets. Proposed System costs ~$2.76M/year per 100k rural Vets.
Impact: 86% Travel Cost Reduction ($64.7M saved per 100k Vets).
Total Year-1 Expenditure: Status Quo costs ~$5.50 Billion.
Proposed System costs ~$2.14 Billion.
Impact: ~$3.36 Billion (61%) Year-1 Overall Savings.
V. SOCIO-ECONOMIC ADVANTAGES: ENDING GEOGRAPHIC CAPTIVITY
The current network model imposes an invisible "Geographic Tax" on disabled Veterans, forcing low-income and disabled Veterans to remain living in expensive urban centers surrounding major VA hospitals just to maintain specialist care.
Housing Freedom: Universal Medicare Parity gives Veterans the mobility to relocate to low-cost rural areas or supportive family communities without risking their medical access.
Federal Voucher Savings: Enabling Veterans to move from inflated urban housing markets reduces federal HUD-VASH housing voucher subsidies by $15,000 to $24,000 per year, per housed Veteran.
Preserving VA Centers of Excellence: This proposal explicitly protects the VA's core strengths, designating specialized combat care—Polytrauma, Amputation/Prosthetics, Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), Blind Rehabilitation, and TBI—as core VA "Centers of Excellence" that remain fully funded in-house.
VI. PRAYER FOR RELIEF & CONGRESSIONAL ACTION
WHEREFORE, your Petitioners respectfully pray that the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs draft, introduce, and enact legislation titled the "Veterans Healthcare Freedom and Medicare Parity Act" to amend Title 38 of the United States Code; repeal restrictive Third-Party Administrator network mandates; authorize direct Medicare parity for all VHA enrollees; and grant our nation's defenders the immediate, local, and dignified healthcare access they have earned through their service and sacrifice.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
Michael Timothy Ryan
United States Navy Veteran (Seabee)
Parrish, Florida
Lead Petitioner on Behalf of Enrolled Veterans Nationwide
Petition Updates
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Petition created on August 20, 2026