MMU Rural Expansion Act of 2026

The Mobile Medical Unit Rural Expansion Act of 2026 seeks to significantly enhance the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) mobile medical unit program. It mandates the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate an existing office head as the program owner , responsible for overseeing deployments, coordinating with medical centers, managing data collection, identifying funding, and integrating these units into broader access-to-care strategies. This aims to ensure more efficient and strategic management of the VA's mobile medical resources. The legislation also requires a comprehensive nationwide inventory and capability assessment of all VA mobile medical units, evaluating their number, condition, location, usage, and accessibility, including wheelchair access. Furthermore, it directs an assessment of the feasibility and advisability of requiring annual deployments of these units to rural or underserved areas to enhance medical service access for veterans. A subsequent report will identify gaps, barriers, and opportunities for expanding mobile medical unit use, incorporating findings from these assessments and a prior Comptroller General report, to recommend necessary legislative or administrative actions.