Description:
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) charges copayments to veterans who receive contraceptive items from the Veterans Health Administration. H.R. 3798 would eliminate those copayments. Collections of copayments for contraceptive items, which totaled $420,000 in 2018, are deposited in the Medical Care Collections Fund and, subject to appropriation, are spent on medical care for veterans. CBO expects that any reduction in those collections would need to be replaced with additional funding in order to provide the same level of health care to veterans. Using historical information on copayments from VA and adjusting for an increase in the cost of VA-funded health care that veterans will receive from nonfederal providers, CBO estimates collections over the 2020-2025 period would be reduced by $5 million. Replacing those amounts and continuing to provide the same level of health care to veterans would cost $5 million over the 2020-2025 period, CBO estimates; that spending would be subject to the availability of appropriations.
