[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 77 (Thursday, May 22, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6994-S6995]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KERRY (for himself and Mr. Harkin):
  S. 1112. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to permit 
Department of Veterans Affairs pharmacies to dispense medications on 
prescriptions written by private practitioners to veterans who are 
currently awaiting their first appointment with the Department for 
medical care, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, there are now nearly 200,000 American 
veterans today who are forced to wait at least 6 months for their first 
visit with a Department of Veterans Affairs physician. Despite having 
served their country and been promised health benefits, these veterans 
are receiving deferred and rationed health care because of chronic 
underfunding and bureaucratic red tape. It amounts to a broken promise 
with men and women who have served in our armed forces. To help ensure 
that our veterans receive the care they need and have been guaranteed, 
today I am pleased to introduce the Veterans' Prescription Drug Reform 
Act of 2003.
  Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program are entitled to a 
prescription drug benefit. This is an essential benefit given the 
importance of pharmaceuticals in health care today. However, there's a 
bureaucratic catch: the benefit only applies to prescriptions written 
by a VA physician, and there are nearly 200,000 veterans who now wait 6 
months or longer for their first visit with a VA physician. For those 
veterans in need of medicine and waiting months on end to see a VA 
physician, the benefit has little value.
  The VA has reported to Congress that, while it has no exact figure, 
it estimates that tens of thousands of the veterans now on the waiting 
list are there primarily to access their prescription drug benefit. In 
many of these cases, veterans have already seen a private physician and 
have a prescription. But in order to use the VA pharmacy and receive 
their prescription benefit, these individuals must duplicate their 
health care visits and see a VA physician. This delays health care 
benefits for far too many veterans.
  The Veterans' Prescription Drug Reform Act of 2003 would permit 
veterans already on the waiting list to fill a prescription written by 
a private physician at the VA pharmacy.
  Specifically, the Veterans' Prescription Drug Reform Act of 2003 
would give the Secretary of Veterans Affairs the authority to permit 
veterans on the waiting list for their first appointment with a VA 
physician at the date of enactment to use the VA pharmacy to fill 
prescriptions written by a private physician. It would also preserve 
the core healthcare mission of the VA by limiting this initiative only 
to those currently waiting for their first appointment. The proposal 
calls for a report to Congress in 1 year so that its potential 
expansion can be evaluated.
  The Secretary of Veterans Affairs has told Congress that he would 
support such a proposal, and I look forward to working with Senator 
Harkin, who joins me in sponsoring this legislation, and my other 
colleagues in the Senate on this common-sense approach to reducing the 
lengthy wait-lines for veterans' healthcare.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1112

       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' Prescription Drug 
     Reform Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. AUTHORITY OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 
                   PHARMACIES TO DISPENSE MEDICATIONS TO CERTAIN 
                   VETERANS FOR PRESCRIPTIONS WRITTEN BY PRIVATE 
                   PRACTITIONERS.

       (a) Authority to Dispense Medications to Certain 
     Veterans.--Section 1712 of title 38, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f); and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new 
     subsection (e):
       ``(e)(1) The Secretary may authorize the pharmacies of the 
     Department to dispense medications to a veteran described in 
     paragraph (2) pursuant to a valid prescription of the veteran 
     written by a private practitioner.
       ``(2) A veteran described in this paragraph is any veteran 
     who is on a waiting list for such veteran's first appointment 
     with the Department for medical services as of the date of 
     the enactment of this section.
       ``(3) A veteran dispensed a medication under this 
     subsection shall pay the Secretary an amount for such 
     medication determined in accordance with the provisions of 
     section 1722A(a) of this title.
       ``(4) Any amounts paid under paragraph (3) shall be 
     deposited in the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Care 
     Collections Fund.''.
       (b) Deposit of Collections.--Section 1729A(b) of such title 
     is amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through (8) as 
     paragraphs (5) through (9), respectively; and
       (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new 
     paragraph (4):
       ``(4) Section 1712(e) of this title.''.
       (c) Report.--(1) Not later than one year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
     shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the 
     Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the 
     exercise by the Secretary of the authority provided in 
     subsection (e) of section 1712 of title 38, United

[[Page S6995]]

     States Code (as amended by subsection (a) of this section).
       (2) The report shall include--
       (A) a description of the exercise of the authority by the 
     Secretary; and
       (B) such recommendations for additional legislative or 
     administrative action with respect to the authority as the 
     Secretary considers appropriate in light of the exercise of 
     the authority.
                                 ______