118 S2975 IS: Road to Access Act of 2023 U.S. Senate 2023-09-28 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. 2975IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESSeptember 28 (legislative day, September 22), 2023Mr. Moran (for himself and Mr. Tester) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' AffairsA BILLTo amend title 38, United States Code, to improve payment and processing of payments or allowances for beneficiary travel, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Road to Access Act of 2023.

2.

Improvements relating to Department of Veterans Affairs beneficiary travel

(a)

In general

Section 111 of title 38, United States Code. is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:(h)The Secretary shall accept claims for reimbursement for expenses under subsection (a) submitted to the Secretary on or before the date that is 180 days after the date of eligible travel, or such later date as the Secretary considers appropriate.(i)For the first instance of care a person receives at a Department facility each year or that is authorized by the Department, the Secretary shall send the veteran written outreach providing information on the payments and allowances available under this section and encouraging the person to submit a claim for allowance under this section. Such communication may also include information about programs described in section 111A of this title available through facilities local to the person.(j)For each claim of a person for allowance or reimbursement denied under this section, the Secretary shall inform the person regarding—(1)the reason for the denial; and(2)the options available to the person for—(A)resubmitting the claim; or(B)appealing the denial.(k)(1)To the extent practicable, not later than one year after the date of the enactment of the Road to Access Act of 2023, the Secretary shall establish a policy whereby a veteran described in paragraph (2) who is eligible for reimbursement under this section have mileage reimbursement claims submitted on their behalf for review by the Department for any care provided at a facility of the Department or by the staff of the Department.(2)A veteran described in this paragraph is a veteran—(A)with a service-connected disability rate at 50 percent or more;(B)with a disability as defined in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102);(C)without reasonable access to the Beneficiary Travel Self Service System, or successor system with similar functions, including lack of access to reliable mobile telephone or internet service or not in possession of the appropriate technology for accessing the Beneficiary Travel Self Service System, or successor system; or(D)reliant upon a caregiver or other resource to submit a claim on behalf of the veteran due to a mental or physical limitation.(l)The Secretary shall—(1)allow any person submitting a claim for allowance or payment under this section to submit the claim in a paper or other format that does not require access to technology devices, mobile telephone service, or internet service;(2)educate relevant staff of the Department regarding this access requirement described in paragraph (1); and(3)provide reasonable and equitable access to the alternatives offered by paragraph (1)..(b)

Updates to certain technology systems

Not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall complete such updates and modifications to technology systems of the Department of Veterans Affairs as the Secretary considers appropriate to carry out subsection (k) of section 111 of such title, as added by subsection (a) of this section.