What veterans think about the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act

Veterans are telling Washington what they want from their health care.

A new Mission Roll Call survey of 1,058 veterans found 71% support the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act. Support for some of the bill’s individual priorities is even higher.

The survey found 92% of veterans support protecting timely-access standards for VA care. Another 91% support funding veteran suicide-prevention programs.

Those findings line up with more than 25,000 responses collected by Mission Roll Call from veterans, family members, and caregivers since 2024.

The polling is clear. Veterans and the families who’ve experienced the system firsthand show why these issues matter.

Veterans want care that works for them

In a recent Washington Times op-ed, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost, a Marine veteran, made the case for a VA health care system that meets veterans where they are.

That could mean specialized treatment at a VA medical center. It could also mean seeing a community doctor closer to home when the VA can’t provide timely care.

TCAVA would protect that choice.

The bill would codify existing community-care access standards for eight years and require congressional approval to change them after that. It would also require the VA to tell veterans when they qualify for community care, explain why a referral was denied, and how to appeal.

Rep. Bost also points to the bill’s provisions for addressing substance abuse and its efforts to improve research and treatment for traumatic brain injuries and blast exposure.

These changes are important because delays and confusion have real consequences for veterans and their families.

Veterans know what waiting for care can cost

For CVA–South Carolina Grassroots Engagement Director Jenn DePew, the debate over timely care is personal.

Her husband served 16 years, including two combat tours in Vietnam. When he needed a primary care appointment, Jenn says they were shuffled through the VA wait list five times and waited 105 days.

No one told them community care was an option.

They eventually had to seek care outside the VA. Within a week, her husband had an appointment. Within another week, he had a colonoscopy scheduled.

Doctors discovered colon cancer.

“If we had waited a few more weeks, he might not be sitting here today,” Jenn says.

Jenn and her husband aren’t alone.

CVA–Nevada Grassroots Engagement Director Leo Garcia points to the 2014 Phoenix VA scandal, which exposed secret wait lists and veterans waiting more than 100 days for care.

More than a decade later, veterans are still dealing with delays that can keep them from getting care when they need it.

TCAVA addresses those problems directly.

One of the bill’s most important changes is how the VA measures wait times. It would also make several practical changes to help veterans spend less time navigating the system and more time getting care.

The bill would:

• Make wait times more honest. The VA couldn’t make a long wait look shorter through paperwork delays or by canceling and rescheduling an appointment.
• Speed up urgent mental health care. Veterans who need inpatient treatment would have clearer timelines for assessment and placement in appropriate care.
• Make the VA easier to navigate online. A new self-service portal would let veterans schedule appointments, receive reminders, track referrals, and manage appeals.

Those reforms all point toward the same goal: less time fighting bureaucracy and more time getting care.

Congress should listen to veterans

Mission Roll Call’s polling shows strong support for timely care, suicide prevention, and other priorities included in TCAVA.

Jenn’s story shows why those issues matter beyond Washington.

Leo’s message is a reminder that veterans have been dealing with wait-time failures for more than a decade.

Congress now has a chance to respond.

Read Mission Roll Call’s full poll results to see what veterans are saying about the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act.

Then read Rep. Bost’s op-ed for a closer look at how the bill could expand access to care and improve the VA experience.

And add your voice to tell Congress to support and pass the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act ― because veterans deserve timely care, real choice, and a VA that works for them.