Home > 106th Congressional Bills > H.R. 891 (ih) To authorize certain States to prohibit the importation of solid waste from other States, and for other purposes. [Introduced in House] ...H.R. 891 (ih) To authorize certain States to prohibit the importation of solid waste from other States, and for other purposes. [Introduced in House] ...
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 890
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for a more equitable
geographic allocation of funds appropriated to the Department of
Veterans Affairs for medical care.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 25, 2003
Mr. Larson of Connecticut (for himself, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Hefley, Ms.
Norton, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mr. LaTourette, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Carson of
Oklahoma, Mrs. Musgrave, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite of
Florida, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Rahall, Ms.
Kilpatrick, Ms. DeLauro, and Mr. Frank of Massachusetts) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for a more equitable
geographic allocation of funds appropriated to the Department of
Veterans Affairs for medical care.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``21st Century Veterans Equitable
Treatment Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Veterans were promised by the Federal Government that
for their service to the country they would be provided a
lifetime of health care services, as well as their own health
care service network.
(2) The current allocation system for appropriations made
to the Department of Veterans Affairs for medical care, known
as the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) formula
and established by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs pursuant
to section 429 of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and
Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies
Appropriations Act, 1997 (Public Law 104-204; 110 Stat. 2929),
has proved to be an ineffective means of allocating such funds
fairly across the 22 national service regions, known as
Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs), of the Department
of Veterans Affairs.
(3) The VERA formula has resulted in a system in which
veterans in some regions of the country are forced to compete
with veterans in other regions for critical medical care funds,
whereas the system should be providing the funding necessary to
meet the health care needs of all veterans, regardless of where
they live, to ensure that all veterans have access to the level
and quality of care that they have all earned and deserve.
(4) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs established a set of
performance goals in fiscal year 2000, which are referred to as
``30-30-20'', representing the Secretary's goal to schedule
nonurgent primary care visits within 30 days, specialty care
visits within 30 days, and the maximum amount of time veterans
must wait once they arrive to be seen by a doctor as 20
minutes.
(5) According to the Department's Performance Report for
Fiscal Year 2001, nationally 87 percent of primary care
appointments were scheduled within 30 days of the desired date
and 84 percent of specialty care appointments were scheduled
within 30 days of the desired date, while in VISN 1, only 82
percent of primary care appointments were scheduled within 30
days of the desired date and only 80 percent of specialty care
appointments were scheduled within 30 days of the desired date.
(6) Until the VERA formula is changed to ensure a more
equitable and adequate distribution of medical care funding
within the Department of Veterans Affairs system, providing
appropriate access to medical care for the Nation's veterans
must remain a national priority with a method found to provide
a safety net that will ensure that veterans have access to the
health care they need without undermining the existing health
care network of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
SEC. 3. STANDARD FOR TIME FOR REFERRAL FOR SPECIALIST CARE.
(a) Time for Specialist Appointments.--(1) The Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall establish by regulation a maximum specialist
referral period, subject to such exceptions as the Secretary considers
necessary.
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ``specialist referral
period'' means the period of time between (A) the date on which a
veteran is referred to a specialty clinic of the Department by the
veteran's primary care physician within the Department of Veterans
Affairs health care system, and (B) the date for which the veteran is
scheduled for an appointment with a Department specialist pursuant to
such referral.
(3) In establishing a maximum specialist referral period under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall act in a manner consistent with the
current treatment policies of the Department based on clinical need and
with the established 30-30-20 performance goal of the Department for
such a referral period.
(b) Standard for Transportation.--The Secretary shall take such
steps as necessary to ensure that the Department of Veterans Affairs is
able to provide appropriate transportation services for qualified
veterans within a reasonable time period of a scheduled appointment.
SEC. 4. CONTRACT CARE TO BE PROVIDED WHEN DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS CARE NOT AVAILABLE IN ACCORDANCE WITH STANDARDS.
(a) Contract Care.--In any case in which the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs is not able to provide hospital care or medical services in
accordance with the standard prescribed under section 3(a) or to
provide transportation services in accordance with section 3(b), the
Secretary shall promptly provide for such care or transportation from a
private source. Hospital care or medical services so provided shall be
those for which the veteran is otherwise eligible within the Department
of Veterans Affairs medical care system.
(b) Reimbursement Rate.--Whenever care or services are provided
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall reimburse the provider of
such care or services for the reasonable value of such care or
services, as determined by the Secretary. Such reimbursement shall be
provided in the same manner as applies to reimbursement for emergency
treatment under section 1725 of title 38, United States Code, subject
to such of the terms and conditions otherwise applicable to such
reimbursements under such section as the Secretary determines to be
appropriate for purposes of this section.
(c) Expedited Reimbursement Procedures.--The Secretary shall take
appropriate steps to expedite the reimbursement required by subsection
(b). Such steps may include steps to take advantage of modern
technology, including so-called ``smart card'' technology that would
allow claims for such reimbursement to be processed electronically. The
Secretary shall, to the extent possible, also apply such steps for
expediting reimbursement to claims for emergency services provided to
veterans for which the Secretary provides reimbursement under
provisions of law in effect before the date of the enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 5. TERMINATION OF 24-MONTH RULE FOR REIMBURSEMENT FOR EMERGENCY
SERVICES.
The provisions of subparagraph (B) of section 1725(b)(2) of title
38, United States Code, shall not apply with respect to emergency
treatment furnished on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 6. MEDICAL ADMINISTRATOR PERFORMANCE RATINGS.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall include in the standards
of performance used for measuring performance of administrators in the
Department of Veterans Affairs medical care system a standard of
assessing improvements in appointment waiting times.
SEC. 7. REPORTS.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees
on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a
report at the end of each fiscal-year quarter on the waiting times for
appointments in the Department of Veterans Affairs medical care system.
The report shall describe any reductions in such waiting times and any
experience with appointment delays.
<all>
Pages: 1 Other Popular 106th Congressional Bills Documents:
|
| GovRecords.org presents information on various agencies of the United States Government. Even though all information is believed to be credible and accurate, no guarantees are made on the complete accuracy of our government records archive. Care should be taken to verify the information presented by responsible parties. Please see our reference page for congressional, presidential, and judicial branch contact information. GovRecords.org values visitor privacy. Please see the privacy page for more information. |
 |