[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 62 (Thursday, April 7, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2102-S2103]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 5026. Mr. MURPHY (for Mr. Rounds (for himself and Mr. Tester))
proposed an amendment to the bill S. 1875, to amend title 38, United
States Code, to provide a deadline of 180 days for the filing of claims
for payment for emergency treatment furnished to veterans, and for
other purposes; as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans' Emergency Care
Claims Parity Act''.
SEC. 2. CLAIMS FOR PAYMENT FROM DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS FOR EMERGENCY TREATMENT FURNISHED TO
VETERANS.
(a) Treatment for Non-Service-Connected Disabilities.--
(1) In general.--Section 1725 of title 38, United States
Code, is amended--
(A) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (h); and
(B) by inserting after subsection (e) the following new
subsections (f) and (g):
``(f) Submittal of Claims for Direct Payment.--An
individual or entity seeking payment under subsection (a)(2)
for treatment provided to a veteran in lieu of reimbursement
to the veteran shall submit a claim for such payment not
later than 180 days after the latest date on which such
treatment was provided.
``(g) Hold Harmless.--No veteran described in subsection
(b) may be held liable for payment for emergency treatment
described in such subsection if--
``(1) a claim for direct payment was submitted by an
individual or entity under subsection (f); and
``(2) such claim was submitted after the deadline
established by such subsection due to--
``(A) an administrative error made by the individual or
entity, such as submission of the claim to the wrong Federal
agency, under the wrong reimbursement authority (such as
section 1728 of this title), or submission of the claim after
the deadline; or
``(B) an administrative error made by the Department, such
as misplacement of a
[[Page S2103]]
paper claim or deletion of an electronic claim.''.
(b) Treatment for and in Connection With Service-Connected
Disabilities.--Section 1728 of such title is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new
subsection (c):
``(c) No veteran described in subsection (a) may be held
liable for payment for emergency treatment described in such
subsection if--
``(1) a claim for direct payment was submitted by an
individual or entity under subsection (b)(2); and
``(2) such claim was submitted after a deadline established
by the Secretary for purposes of this section due to--
``(A) an administrative error made by the individual or
entity, such as submission of the claim to the wrong Federal
agency or submission of the claim after the deadline; or
``(B) an administrative error made by the Department, such
as misplacement of a paper claim or deletion of an electronic
claim.''.
(c) Conforming Amendments.--Such title is amended--
(1) in section 1705A(d), by striking ``section 1725(f)''
and inserting ``section 1725(h)'';
(2) in section 1725(b)(3)(B), by striking ``subsection
(f)(2)(B) or (f)(2)(C)'' and inserting ``subsection (h)(2)(B)
or (h)(2)(C)'';
(3) in section 1728(d), as redesignated by subsection
(b)(4), by striking ``section 1725(f)(1)'' and inserting
``section 1725(h)(1)'';
(4) in section 1781(a)(4), by striking ``section 1725(f)''
and inserting ``section 1725(h)''; and
(5) in section 1787(b)(3), by striking ``section 1725(f)''
and inserting ``section 1725(h)''.
SEC. 3. PUBLICATION OF CLARIFYING INFORMATION FOR NON-
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PROVIDERS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
publish on one or more publicly available internet websites
of the Department of Veterans Affairs, including the main
internet website regarding emergency care authorization for
non-Department providers, the following information:
(1) A summary table or similar resource that provides a
list of all authorities of the Department to authorize
emergency care from non-Department providers and, for each
such authority, the corresponding deadline for submission of
claims.
(2) An illustrated summary of steps, such as a process map,
with a checklist for the submission of clean claims that non-
Department providers can follow to assure compliance with the
claims-filing process of the Department.
(3) Contact information for the appropriate office or
service line of the Department to address process questions
from non-Department providers.
(b) Periodic Review.--Not less frequently than once every
180 days, the Secretary shall review the information
published under subsection (a) to ensure that such
information is current.
(c) Clean Claims Defined.--In this section, the term
``clean claims'' means clean electronic claims and clean
paper claims (as those terms are defined in section 1703D(i)
of title 38, United States Code).
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