Blackburn, Hassan introduce bipartisan bill to improve access to specialty care for female veterans
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) have introduced the Women Veterans Specialty Care Access Act, a bipartisan bill that would allow female veterans to directly schedule appointments for women’s specialty care, including gynecology, obstetrics, maternity, and postpartum care, without first obtaining a referral from a VA primary care provider.
What the bill would do
The legislation would codify and expand a policy the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced Dec. 4, 2025, which removed the referral requirement for women veterans seeking VA gynecology appointments.
If passed, the bill would:
- Allow any covered veteran to directly schedule an appointment for women’s specialty care, including gynecology, obstetrics, maternity, and postpartum care, without requiring a referral from a VA primary care provider
- Ensure direct scheduling is available at each VA medical center or clinic that offers women’s specialty care and through all scheduling modalities used by the VA, including telephone and online tools
- Prohibit any additional approval, referral, or screening requirements as a condition of accessing women’s specialty care
- Preserve existing eligibility and community care standards.
Senators’ statements
“Female veterans are one of the fastest-growing populations served by the VA, and we need to do everything in our power to ensure they receive the care they have earned in a timely manner,” said Senator Blackburn. “Our Women Veterans Specialty Care Access Act would allow female veterans to directly schedule an appointment for women’s specialty care without requiring them to get a referral from a VA primary care provider.”
“This bipartisan bill permanently removes the needlessly time-consuming step of requiring women veterans to receive a referral form from their primary care provider to access women’s health care,” said Senator Hassan. “This commonsense bill will help make it easier and faster for women veterans to receive the care that they need, have earned, and deserve.”
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