A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to establish an external provider scheduling program to assist the Department of Veterans Affairs in scheduling appointments for care and services under the Veterans Community Care Program, and for other purposes.

S 5035 establishes a national "External Provider Scheduling Program" within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to improve scheduling for veterans using the Veterans Community Care Program. The program requires VA schedulers to use real-time technology that displays availability of community health providers, aiming to reduce wait times from referral to appointment and shorten scheduler processing time. It mandates full implementation at all VA medical centers by September 2025 and requires annual reports to Congress on progress. This directly affects veterans seeking care outside VA facilities under the Community Care Program and the VA's scheduling processes. The bill focuses on concrete operational changes to streamline appointment access.