118 S2263 IS: The Rural Vital Emergency Transportation Services (VETS) Act U.S. Senate 2023-07-12 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

II118th CONGRESS1st SessionS. 2263IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESJuly 12, 2023Mr. Sullivan introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' AffairsA BILLTo require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reimburse the cost of transportation by ambulance for highly rural veterans seeking care under the laws administered by the Secretary, regardless of whether such veteran qualifies for payments or allowances for beneficiary travel.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the The Rural Vital Emergency Transportation Services (VETS) Act.

2.

Reimbursement of ambulance cost for care for highly rural veterans

(a)

In general

Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary shall pay, or reimburse a highly rural veteran for, the cost of transporting the veteran by ambulance, including air ambulance, to a provider of the Department of Veterans Affairs or a non-Department provider for care authorized under the laws administered by the Secretary, or for which subsequent payment or reimbursement is authorized under the laws administered by the Secretary, regardless of whether the veteran qualifies for payments or allowances for beneficiary travel under section 111 of title 38, United States Code.(b)

Highly rural veteran defined

In this section, the term highly rural veteran means a veteran who is located in an area rated as a 10 or higher under the rural-urban commuting areas coding system of the Department of Agriculture.