[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 24 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 24

     To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for certain 
improvements in the way in which health-care resources are allocated by 
      the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 6, 1999

Mr. Gilman (for himself and Mrs. Kelly) 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 certain 
improvements in the way in which health-care resources are allocated by 
      the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. CRITERIA FOR REQUIRED COPAYMENT FOR MEDICAL CARE PROVIDED BY 
              THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Exception Based on Prior Catastrophic Health Care Expenses.--
Subsection (a) of section 1722 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (2);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (3) and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(4) the veteran's expenses for medical care (as defined 
        in section 213 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) for the 
        previous year are in excess of 7\1/2\ percent of the veteran's 
        adjusted gross income for the previous year (as determined for 
        purposes of the personal income tax under the Internal Revenue 
        Code of 1986).''.
    (b) Adjustment in Income Thresholds for Veterans Residing in 
SMSAs.--Subsection (b) of such section is amended by adding at the end 
the following new paragraph:
    ``(3) The amounts in effect for purposes of this subsection for any 
calendar year shall be increased by 20 percent for any veteran who 
resides in a Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA), as defined 
by the Bureau of the Census.''.
    (c) Amendments Within Existing Resources.--The Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall carry out the amendments made by this section 
for fiscal years 2000 and 2001 within the amount of funds otherwise 
available (or programmed to be available) for medical care for the 
Department of Veterans Affairs for those fiscal years.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on January 1, 2000.

SEC. 2. SERVICES FOR MENTALLY ILL VETERANS.

    (a) Membership of Committee on Care of Severely Chronically 
Mentally Ill Veterans.--Section 7321 of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``and members of the 
        general public with expertise in the care of the chronically 
        mentally ill'' in the second sentence after ``chronically 
        mentally ill''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e) The Secretary shall determine the terms of service and (for 
members appointed from the general public) the pay and allowances of 
the members of the committee, except that a term of service may not 
exceed five years. The Secretary may reappoint any member for 
additional terms of service.''.
    (b) Centers for Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical 
Activities.--Paragraph (3) of section 7320(b) of such title is amended 
to read as follows:
    ``(3) The Secretary shall designate at least one center under this 
section in each service network region of the Veterans Health 
Administration.''.

SEC. 3. ALLOCATION OF MEDICAL CARE RESOURCES FOR THE DEPARTMENT.

    (a) In General.--(1) Chapter 81 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 8116 the following new section:
``Sec. 8117. Allocation of medical care resources
    ``In applying the plan for the allocation of health care resources 
(including personnel and funds) known as the Veterans Equitable 
Resource Allocation system, developed by the Secretary pursuant to the 
requirements of section 429 of Public Law 104-204 (110 Stat. 2929) and 
submitted to Congress in March 1997, the Secretary shall exclude from 
consideration in the determination of the allocation of such resources 
the following (resources for which shall be allocated in such manner as 
the Secretary determines to be appropriate):
            ``(1) Programs to provide readjustment counseling and 
        treatment.
            ``(2) Programs to provide counseling and treatment 
        (including psychiatric care) for the mentally ill.
            ``(3) Programs relating to drug and alcohol abuse and 
        dependence.
            ``(4) Programs for the homeless.
            ``(5) Programs relating to post-traumatic stress disorder.
            ``(6) Programs relating to spinal cord dysfunction.
            ``(7) Programs relating to AIDS.
            ``(8) Programs relating to geriatric and extended care.''.
    (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 8116 the 
following new item:

``8117. Allocation of medical care resources.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Section 8117 of title 38, United States Code, 
as added by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to the allocation 
of resources for each fiscal year after fiscal year 1999.
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