[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 84 Introduced in House (IH)]







111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 84

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

                            January 6, 2009

 Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Timely Access to Health 
Care Act''.

SEC. 2. STANDARDS FOR ACCESS TO CARE.

    (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:
    ``(e)(1) For a veteran seeking primary care from the Department, 
the standard for access to care, 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, is 30 days.
    ``(2)(A) The Secretary shall prescribe an appropriate standard for 
access to care applicable to waiting times at Department health-care 
facilities, determined from the time at which a veteran's visit is 
scheduled until the time at which the veteran is seen by the provider 
with whom the visit is scheduled.
    ``(B) The Secretary shall periodically review the performance of 
Department health-care facilities compared to the standard prescribed 
under subparagraph (A). The Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives an annual 
report providing an assessment of the Department's performance in 
meeting that standard.
    ``(3) Effective on the first day of the first fiscal year beginning 
after the date of the enactment of this section, but subject to 
paragraph (4), in a case in which the Secretary is unable to meet the 
standard for access to care applicable under paragraph (1) or (2), the 
Secretary shall, or with respect to a veteran described in section 
1705(a)(8) of this title may, use the authority of subsection (a) to 
furnish health care and services for that veteran in a non-Department 
facility. In any such case--
            ``(A) payments by the Secretary may not exceed the 
        reimbursement rate for similar outpatient services paid by the 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services under part B of the 
        medicare program (as defined in section 1781(d)(4)(A) of this 
        title); and
            ``(B) the non-Department facility may not bill the veteran 
        for any difference between the facility's billed charges and 
        the amount paid by the Secretary under subparagraph (A).
    ``(4) Paragraph (3) shall not apply to a veteran enrolled or 
seeking care at a Department facility within a Department geographic 
service area that has a compliance rate, determined over the first 
quarter of the first calendar-year beginning after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, for the standards for access to care under 
paragraphs (1) and (2) of 90 percent or more. The Secretary shall make 
the determination of the compliance rate for each Department geographic 
service area for purposes of the preceding sentence not later than July 
1 of the first calendar-year beginning after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
    ``(5)(A) The Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' 
Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives for each calendar-
year quarter, not later than 60 days after the end of the quarter, a 
comprehensive report on the experience of the Department during the 
quarter covered by the report with respect to waiting times for 
veterans seeking appointments with a Department health-care provider.
    ``(B) Each report under subparagraph (A) shall include the total 
number of veterans waiting, shown for each geographic service area by 
the following categories:
            ``(i) Those waiting under 30 days for scheduled 
        appointments.
            ``(ii) Those waiting over 30 days but less than 60 days.
            ``(iii) Those waiting over 60 days but less than 4 months.
            ``(iv) Those waiting over 4 months but who cannot be 
        scheduled within 6 months.
            ``(v) Those waiting over 6 months but who cannot be 
        scheduled within 9 months of seeking care.
            ``(vi) Those who cannot be scheduled within one year of 
        seeking care.
            ``(vii) Any remaining veterans who cannot be scheduled, 
        with the reasons therefor.
    ``(C) For each category set forth in subparagraph (B), the report 
shall distinguish between--
            ``(i) waiting times for primary care and specialty care; 
        and
            ``(ii) waiting times for veterans who are newly enrolled 
        versus those who were enrolled before October 1, 2001.
    ``(D) Each such report shall also set forth the number of veterans 
who have enrolled in the Department's health care system but have not 
since such enrollment sought care at a Department health care facility.
    ``(E) The final report under this paragraph shall be for the 
quarter ending on December 31, 2010.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Subsection (e) of section 1703 of title 38, 
United States Code, as added 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. The first report under paragraph 
(5) of that subsection shall be submitted for the quarter ending on 
December 31 of the first calendar year beginning after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
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