COVER Now Act

House Bill

H.R. 608

119th Congress

COVER Now Act

In Committee

Introduced:Jul 21, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Clay Higgins

Representative

Republican

LA-3

Cosponsors

5

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Armed Forces and National Security

Summary

The COVER Now Act would end the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) electronic health record modernization program and require the VA to revert to its older health record systems. This would stop the VA's efforts to implement a new, unified electronic health record system across its facilities.

Latest Action

Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held

SponsorClay Higgins (R-LA)

Introduced7/21/2025

StatusReferred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

ChamberHouse

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Vote Prediction

COVER Now Act

The COVER Now Act would end the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) electronic health record modernization program and require the VA to revert to its older health record systems. This would stop the VA's efforts to implement a new, unified electronic health

Community Breakdown

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The COVER Now Act would end the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) electronic health record modernization program and require the VA to revert to its older health record systems. This would stop the VA's efforts to implement a new, unified electronic health record system across its facilities.

Bill Number: 608
Sponsor: Clay Higgins (R-LA)
Introduced: 7/21/2025
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Policy Area: Armed Forces and National Security

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: COVER Now Act
Bill Number: 608
Sponsor: Clay Higgins (R-LA)
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced: 7/21/2025
Summary: The COVER Now Act would end the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) electronic health record modernization program and require the VA to revert to its older health record systems. This would stop the VA's efforts to implement a new, unified electronic health record system across its facilities.

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

The COVER Now Act would end the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) electronic health record modernization program and require the VA to revert to its older health record systems. This would stop the VA's efforts to implement a new, unified electronic health record system across its facilities.

Last updated: 12/30/2025

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

This bill terminates the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Electronic Health Record Modernization Program (program) and requires the VA to abolish the Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration Office. The VA must transfer any activities or functions of the office that are not terminated to the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) or VA Office of Information and Technology. Additionally, the VA must revert VHA facilities to the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture and the Computerized Patient Record System of the VA. Further, the VA must stop the implementation of an electronic health record system under the program at any VHA facility where the system is not in use as of the date of enactment. The VA is prohibited from exercising any option periods or optional tasks under any contract under the program.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

The bill would terminate the VA's Electronic Health Record Modernization Program and abolish the associated Integration Office.
The VA would have to revert to its existing Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture and Computerized Patient Record System.
The VA would be prohibited from further implementing the new electronic health record system at any facilities where it is not already in use.

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

This bill would affect the VA's efforts to modernize and standardize its electronic health records system across its network of medical facilities. If enacted, it would disrupt the VA's ongoing transition to a new, unified electronic health record and require it to continue using its older, decentralized systems instead.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Armed Forces and National Security

Related Subjects

Computers and information technology

Congressional oversight

Digital media

Health information and medical records

Veterans' medical care

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

608, 119th Congress (2025). "COVER Now Act". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-hr-608

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