S. 5361: Mobile Medical Unit Rural Expansion Act of 2026

This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to better organize, study, and potentially expand its use of mobile medical units—veteran health care vehicles or trailers that can travel to different locations to provide care.

What the bill would do

• Assign one office to lead the program. The VA Secretary would have to name the head of an existing VA office to oversee the Mobile Medical Unit Program.
• Give that office specific responsibilities. The designated office would be responsible for tracking deployments, coordinating with VA medical centers, managing data, identifying funding and procurement sources, and helping incorporate mobile units into broader VA access-to-care plans.
• Inventory the current fleet. The VA would have to conduct a nationwide review of all its mobile medical units to determine:
  • how many units exist and what types they are,
  • their age, condition, readiness, and maintenance needs,
  • where they are located and where they can be deployed,
  • how often they are used and for what services,
  • patient-level data related to their use,
  • whether the units and deployment sites are accessible for people with disabilities, and
  • what unmet needs or access gaps the units could help address.
• Study possible annual deployments in rural or underserved areas. Within 180 days after enactment, the VA would have to assess whether it would be practical and advisable to require certain VA medical centers to send mobile medical units to rural or underserved areas at least once a year.
• Develop criteria and options. That assessment would need to suggest:
  • which VA medical centers might be covered by such a requirement,
  • which rural or underserved areas should be targeted,
  • what services mobile units could safely provide there,
  • how many veterans or other eligible people might be served, and
  • how often deployments should happen based on access, cost, and other factors.
• Report to Congress. The VA would have to send that assessment to the Senate and House Veterans’ Affairs Committees within 90 days after it is completed.
• Submit a broader report on opportunities and barriers. Within 180 days of enactment, the VA would also have to report to Congress on:
  • where mobile medical units could be expanded in rural or underserved areas,
  • which areas have high rural veteran populations,
  • barriers involving staffing, clinical support, funding, accessibility, information technology, and training,
  • how the VA could work with local veterans service organizations to find suitable deployment sites,
  • how the designated program office could address the barriers,
  • findings from the nationwide inventory,
  • how the VA has responded to a 2023 GAO report on mobile medical units, and
  • any recommended legislative or administrative changes.

Practical effect

The bill does not directly order a nationwide expansion of mobile medical units right away. Instead, it sets up a structure for VA oversight, gathers detailed information about the current fleet, and requires the VA to study whether more regular deployment to rural and underserved areas would be feasible and worthwhile. The main immediate effect would be more planning, reporting, and internal coordination within the VA.

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