[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 23, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H4468-H4469]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IMPROVING THE PROVISION OF ADULT DAY HEALTH CARE SERVICES FOR VETERANS

  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 1005) to amend title 38, United States Code, to 
improve the provision of adult day health care services for veterans.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1005

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. PROVISION OF ADULT DAY HEALTH CARE SERVICES FOR 
                   VETERANS.

       (a) In General.--Section 1745 of title 38, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(d)(1) The Secretary shall enter into an agreement under 
     section 1720(c)(1) of this title or a contract with each 
     State home for payment by the Secretary for adult day health 
     care provided to a veteran who is eligible for, but does not 
     receive, nursing home care pursuant to subsection (a).
       ``(2) Payment under each agreement or contract between the 
     Secretary and a State home under paragraph (1) for each 
     veteran who receives care under such paragraph shall be made 
     at a rate that is equal to 65 percent of the payment that the 
     Secretary would pay to the State home pursuant to subsection 
     (a)(2) if the veteran received nursing home care under 
     subsection (a) rather than under paragraph (1) of this 
     subsection.
       ``(3) Payment by the Secretary under paragraph (1) to a 
     State home for adult day health care provided to a veteran 
     described in that paragraph constitutes payment in full to 
     the State home for such care furnished to that veteran.''; 
     and
       (2) in the heading, by inserting ``, adult day health 
     care,'' after ``home care''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 17 of such title is amended by striking 
     the item relating to section 1745 and inserting the following 
     new item:

``1745. Nursing home care, adult day health care, and medications for 
              veterans with service-connected disabilities.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Roe) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Walz) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 1005, a bill to improve 
the provision of adult day healthcare services for veterans.
  Last year, the Department of Veterans Affairs testified that 9.8 
million veterans, or 46 percent of the veteran population, will be 65 
years of age or older in 2017. Given that, the need to ensure that 
veterans have ready access to a variety of geriatric and long-term care 
services and supports is an increasingly important component of the 
VA's mission.

[[Page H4469]]

  Current law requires the VA to cover the cost of nursing home care in 
a State Veterans Home for any veteran in need of such care due to a 
service-connected disability or with a service-connected disability 
rating of 70 percent or more. That authority is incredibly important 
and has helped thousands of our veterans get the nursing home care they 
need.
  However, there is an increasing demand for VA to offer geriatric and 
long-term care programs in noninstitutional settings that would allow 
aging veterans to receive needed services and supports while remaining 
in their homes surrounded by their loved ones.
  To that end, H.R. 1005 would require VA to enter into an agreement or 
a contract with State Veterans Homes to pay for adult day healthcare 
for a veteran who is eligible for but not receiving nursing home care.
  Adult day healthcare programs are a popular alternative to nursing 
home care that provide veterans in need of case management, assistance 
with activities of daily living, or other supportive services with 
companionship, peer support, recreation, and certain healthcare 
services. They also provide needed respite for caregivers.
  By requiring VA to cover the cost of adult day healthcare programs at 
State Veterans Homes for veterans who would otherwise qualify for VA-
paid nursing home care, H.R. 1005 would expand access to this type of 
care, which has been shown to maximize a veteran's independence and 
quality of life and to extend an aging veteran's ability to remain at 
home, which I think we would all want to do.
  This bill has the support of the National Association of State 
Veterans Homes, The American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, 
the Paralyzed Veterans of America, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars of 
the United States.
  I am grateful to my friend and former committee member, Lee Zeldin 
from New York, for sponsoring this legislation and for shepherding it 
to the House floor. I look forward to working with him and our 
colleagues in the Senate to secure a quick passage over there as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting 
H.R. 1005, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of Congressman Zeldin's bill, 
H.R. 1005. This legislation is a timely solution to a problem that 
affects many of our aging veteran populations. Nursing homes are often 
a family's last resort, and I believe that is the way it should remain. 
By allowing veterans to receive daily care and assistance at a nursing 
home and then return to their homes at night, veterans will receive the 
care, medical support, and attention they need without sacrificing the 
community family support and independence they want.
  For that reason, I ask my colleagues to support this really smart 
piece of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from New York (Mr. Zeldin) who is a former member of our committee and 
sponsor of this legislation.
  Mr. ZELDIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1005, a bill 
which would provide no-cost medical model adult day healthcare at State 
Veterans Homes to veterans who are 70 percent or more service-connected 
disabled.
  This bill is an extension to the Veterans Benefits, Healthcare, and 
Information Technology Act of 2006, which currently provides no-cost 
nursing home care at any State Veterans Home to veterans who are 70 
percent or more service-connected disabled.
  Medical model adult day healthcare provides comprehensive medical, 
nursing, and personal care services combined with engaging social 
activities for physically or cognitively impaired adults. Medical model 
adult day healthcare offers a complete array of rehabilitative 
therapies, including physical, occupational, and speech therapies, 
hospice and palliative care, social work, spiritual, nutritional 
counseling, and therapeutic recreation.
  The program is designed to promote socialization and stimulation and 
maximize the participant's independence while enhancing their quality 
of life. The program is staffed by a team of multidisciplinary 
healthcare professionals who evaluate each participant and customize an 
individualized plan of care specific to their health and social needs.
  Adult day healthcare is an alternative care setting that can allow 
some veterans who require long-term care services to remain in their 
homes rather than be institutionalized in a nursing home. Such veterans 
typically require support for some, but not all, activities of daily 
living--ADLs--such as bathing, dressing, or feeding. In many cases, a 
spouse or other family member may provide the veteran with much of 
their care, but they require additional support for some of the 
veteran's ADLs. By filling these gaps, adult day healthcare can allow 
these veterans to remain in their homes and communities for additional 
months or even years and thereby lower the financial cost of caring for 
these heroes.
  Adult day healthcare also provides family caregivers support and 
relief. Adult day healthcare programs can help caregivers to meet their 
other professional and family obligations or provide a well-deserved 
respite while their loved ones are participating in the program.
  I would like to thank Chairman Roe and Ranking Member Walz for their 
leadership and support on this issue. Also, I would like to thank the 
House Veterans' Affairs Committee and the great staff for recognizing 
the need for this critical legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a piece of legislation I would encourage all of 
our colleagues to support.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Costello) who is a former member of our 
committee.
  Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
legislation that would assist veterans in Pennsylvania's Sixth 
Congressional District who suffer from a service-connected disability.
  H.R. 1005 would allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to work with 
State Veterans Homes, such as the Southeastern Veterans Center in my 
district in East Vincent Township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, to 
fund adult day healthcare for veterans who have a disability rating of 
70 percent or more from the line of duty.
  Making this program available to more veterans who need assistance 
with daily tasks, such as bathing, dressing, or eating, would help 
improve the lives of those who have sacrificed so much, as well as 
their families.
  Our veterans and their loved ones deserve to receive high-quality 
health services with the freedom and flexibility to live independently 
and at home.
  I commend Congressman Zeldin for his leadership and all those on the 
Veterans' Affairs Committee for passing this out of committee. I am 
proud to be a cosponsor of this bill, and I urge my colleagues to 
support it.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join me in 
passing H.R. 1005, and I yield back the balance of my time.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1005.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Once again, I urge all Members to support this 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 1005.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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