[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5027 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5027

  To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure fair reimbursement 
rates for home and community-based services furnished by the Department 
              of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 16, 2026

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure fair reimbursement 
rates for home and community-based services furnished by 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 ``Protecting Home-Based Care for Rural 
Veterans Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. REIMBURSEMENT RATES FOR HOME AND COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES.

    (a) Homemaker and Home Health Aide Program.--Section 1720L(c) of 
title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(3) On and after the date of the enactment of the Protecting 
Home-Based Care for Rural Veterans Act of 2026, the Secretary--
            ``(A) in the case of any reimbursement rates for services 
        furnished under the Homemaker and Home Health Aide program that 
        were reduced after December 31, 2025, shall reinstate the rates 
        in effect on such date; and
            ``(B) may not reduce the reimbursement rates for such 
        services to an amount that is less than the rates in effect on 
        such date, unless the Secretary notifies Congress of such 
        reduction not later than 90 days before such reduction takes 
        effect.
    ``(4) Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
the Protecting Home-Based Care for Rural Veterans Act of 2026, and 
annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report--
            ``(A) specifying whether the number of providers furnishing 
        services under the Homemaker and Home Health Aide program is 
        adequate to meet veteran demand for such services;
            ``(B) identifying any regions where provider participation 
        in furnishing such services is inadequate to meet such demand; 
        and
            ``(C) identifying how the Secretary plans to ensure 
        adequate provider participation in furnishing such services to 
        ensure the needs of veterans for such care are met.''.
    (b) Report on Reimbursement Rates.--Not later than 90 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall submit to Congress a report that includes--
            (1) the data sources used to establish reimbursement rates 
        for services under subsections (c) and (e) of section 1720L of 
        title 38, United States Code, including any use of data from 
        the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.), the Medicaid program under title 
        XIX of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), or the private 
        market;
            (2) the weighting and adjustment factors applied to such 
        data;
            (3) the role of any contractors or third-party 
        administrators in determining such rates;
            (4) a description of any consultation with providers of 
        home and community-based services in establishing such rates, 
        including how such input was solicited, considered, and 
        incorporated; and
            (5) a description of any formulas, models, or analytical 
        methods used to establish such rates, including any variables, 
        assumptions, weighting, and any additional data sources or 
        factors considered by the Secretary.
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