[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1751 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1751

    To improve authorities for performance of medical disabilities 
      examinations by contract physicians for benefits under laws 
   administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 20, 2013

  Mr. Heller introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To improve authorities for performance of medical disabilities 
      examinations by contract physicians for benefits under laws 
   administered by the Secretary 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. IMPROVEMENTS TO AUTHORITY FOR PERFORMANCE OF MEDICAL 
              DISABILITIES EXAMINATIONS BY CONTRACT PHYSICIAN.

    (a) Extension of Temporary Authority.--Subsection (c) of section 
704 of the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 (38 U.S.C. 5101 note) is 
amended by striking ``December 31, 2013'' and inserting ``December 31, 
2016''.
    (b) Licensure of Contract Physicians.--
            (1) Temporary authority.--Such section 704 is further 
        amended--
                    (A) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection 
                (e); and
                    (B) by inserting after subsection (c) the following 
                new subsection (d):
    ``(d) Licensure of Contract Physicians.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any law regarding the 
        licensure of physicians, a physician described in paragraph (2) 
        may conduct an examination pursuant to a contract entered into 
        under subsection (b) at any location in any State, the District 
        of Columbia, or a Commonwealth, territory, or possession of the 
        United States, so long as the examination is within the scope 
        of the authorized duties under such contract.
            ``(2) Physician described.--A physician described in this 
        paragraph is a physician who--
                    ``(A) has a current license to practice the health 
                care profession of the physician; and
                    ``(B) is performing authorized duties for the 
                Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant to a contract 
                entered into under subsection (b).''.
            (2) Pilot program.--Section 504 of the Veterans' Benefits 
        Improvement Act of 1996 (38 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 
                subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and
                    (B) by inserting after subsection (b) the following 
                new subsection (c):
    ``(c) Licensure of Contract Physicians.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any law regarding the 
        licensure of physicians, a physician described in paragraph (2) 
        may conduct an examination pursuant to a contract entered into 
        under subsection (a) at any location in any State, the District 
        of Columbia, or a Commonwealth, territory, or possession of the 
        United States, so long as the examination is within the scope 
        of the authorized duties under such contract.
            ``(2) Physician described.--A physician described in this 
        paragraph is a physician who--
                    ``(A) has a current license to practice the health 
                care profession of the physician; and
                    ``(B) is performing authorized duties for the 
                Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant to a contract 
                entered into under subsection (a).''.
    (c) Expansion of Pilot Program.--Subsection (b) of such section 504 
is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b) Locations.--
            ``(1) Number.--The Secretary may carry out the pilot 
        program under this section through not more than 15 regional 
        offices of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
            ``(2) Selection.--The Secretary shall select the regional 
        offices under paragraph (1) by analyzing appropriate data to 
        determine the regional offices that require support. Such 
        appropriate data shall include--
                    ``(A) the number of backlogged claims;
                    ``(B) the total pending case workload;
                    ``(C) the length of time cases have been pending;
                    ``(D) the accuracy of completed cases;
                    ``(E) the overall timeliness of completed cases;
                    ``(F) the availability and workload of the 
                examination units and physicians of the medical centers 
                in the regional office; and
                    ``(G) any other data the Secretary determines 
                appropriate.
            ``(3) Annual analysis.--The Secretary shall carry out the 
        data analysis of the regional offices under paragraph (2) 
        during each year in which the program under this section is 
        carried out to determine the regional offices selected under 
        paragraph (1) for such year.''.
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