[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2357 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2357

To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish standards of access 
    to care for veterans seeking health care from the Department of 
               Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 5, 2003

Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite of Florida (for herself, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, 
  and Mr. Miller of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish standards of access 
    to care for veterans seeking health care from 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. ACCESS TO CARE STANDARDS.

    (a) Required Standards for Access to Care.--Section 1703 of title 
38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection:
    ``(d)(1) The following are the standards for access to care for the 
Department:
            ``(A) For a veteran seeking primary care, the standard for 
        access is 30 days, determined from the date on which the 
        veteran contacts the Department seeking an appointment until 
        the date on which a visit with a primary care provider is 
        completed.
            ``(B) For a veteran seeking specialized care, the standard 
        for access is 30 days, determined from the date on which the 
        veteran is referred for specialty care by a primary care 
        provider until the date on which a visit with an appropriate 
        specialty primary care provider is completed.
    ``(2) The Secretary shall develop and disseminate an appropriate 
standard of waiting time, determined from the time at which the 
veteran's visit is scheduled until the veteran is seen by the provider. 
The Secretary shall periodically review performance of Department 
facilities compared to that standard. The Secretary shall annually 
report to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House 
of Representatives an assessment of the Department's performance 
against that standard.
    ``(3) In a case in which the Secretary is unable to meet the 
standard for access to care, the Secretary shall use the authority of 
subsection (a) to furnish health care and services for that veteran in 
a non-Department facility.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect on the first day of the first month beginning more than six 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>