119-hr3482

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3482 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3482

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish an online program 
 through which an employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs may 
 schedule an appointment for a covered veteran with a non-Department 
health care provider under the Veterans Community Care Program, and for 
 other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 May 19, 2025

 Mr. Barrett introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish an online program 
 through which an employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs may 
 schedule an appointment for a covered veteran with a non-Department 
health care provider under the Veterans Community Care Program, 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 ``Veterans Community Care Scheduling 
Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. SCHEDULING OF APPOINTMENTS UNDER THE VETERANS COMMUNITY CARE 
 PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--

Section 3101 of the Johnny Isakson and David P. 
Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 
(Public Law 116-315; 38 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended by striking 
subsection
            (d) and inserting the following new subsection
            (d) :
 ``
            (d) Program on Scheduling Appointments With Community Care 
Providers by Employees of the Department Through Information Technology 
System.--

    (1) Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of 
the Veterans Community Care Scheduling Improvement Act, the Secretary 
shall, instead of the process under subsection

    (a) , carry out a program 
through which a scheduler of the Department--
 ``
        (A) may schedule, for a veteran, an appointment--
 ``
            (i) for health care furnished through the 
 Veterans Community Care Program; and
 ``
            (ii) offered by a non-Department health care 
 provider that participates in the Veterans Community 
 Care Program and elects to participate in the program 
 under this subsection; and
 ``
        (B) using an information technology system.
 ``

    (2) The Secretary shall carry out the program under this 
subsection through an existing agreement if practicable.
 ``

    (3) The program under this subsection shall, with regards to an 
appointment available with a Department provider or a non-Department 
provider that participates in the Veterans Community Care Program, 
allow a scheduler--
 ``
        (A) to view, search, and sort such appointments by type 
 of care, location, and date;
 ``
        (B) to schedule such an appointment;
 ``
            (C) to provide referral or authorization documents 
 directly to a non-Department provider; and
 ``
            (D) to perform any other function the Secretary 
 determines necessary.
 ``

    (4) Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of the 
Veterans Community Care Scheduling Improvement Act, the Secretary shall 
prescribe regulations under this subsection. Such regulations shall 
include a directive to employees at medical centers of the Department 
to use the information technology system under this subsection to 
schedule appointments described in paragraph

    (1) instead of the process 
under subsection

    (a) whenever practicable.
 ``

    (5) Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of the 
Veterans Community Care Scheduling Improvement Act, the Secretary shall 
plan and carry out an outreach campaign to encourage non-Department 
providers that participate in the Veterans Community Care Program to 
participate in the program under this subsection. Such outreach shall 
include the publication of a publicly accessible website of the 
Department regarding--
 ``
        (A) details of the program;
 ``
        (B) how a provider may elect to participate in the 
 program; and
 ``
            (C) a point of contact in the Department regarding the 
 program.
 ``

    (6) The Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' 
Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives the following 
documents regarding the program under this subsection:
 ``
        (A) Not later than 30 days after each determination 
 described in paragraph

    (3)
            (D) , a report regarding each function 
 described in such subparagraph.
 ``
        (B) Not later than 30 days after prescription, a copy of 
 the regulations prescribed under paragraph

    (4) .
 ``
            (C) Not later than 30 days after the Secretary formulates 
 the plan under paragraph

    (5) , a copy of such plan.
 ``
            (D) Not later than 18 months after the date of the 
 enactment of the Veterans Community Care Scheduling Improvement 
 Act and every six months thereafter during the following five 
 years, a report regarding operation of such program during the 
 six months preceding the date of the report. Such a report 
 shall include the following:
 ``
            (i) The number of non-Department health care 
 providers who participated in such program.
 ``
            (ii) The number of appointments under the 
 Veterans Community Care Program, scheduled by a 
 scheduler of the Department, disaggregated by--
 ``
            (I) whether the appointment was scheduled 
 under such program or by the process under 
 subsection

    (a) ;
 ``
            (II) category of medical services 
 provided; and
 ``
            (III) month.
 ``

    (7) The program under this subsection shall terminate seven years 
after the date of the enactment of the Veterans Community Care 
Scheduling Improvement Act.''.

    (b) Codification.--

    (1) In general.--

Section 3101 of such Act, as amended by 
 subsection

    (a) , is transferred to subchapter I of chapter 17 of 
 title 38, United States Code, inserted after 

section 1703G, and 
 redesignated as 

section 1703H.

    (2) Conforming amendments.--

Section 1703H of such title, as 
 added by this section, is amended--
        (A) by striking any heading that is not a section 
 heading or subsection heading and conforming the 
 margins accordingly;
        (B) by striking ``of title 38, United States Code'' 
 both places it appears and inserting ``of this title'';
            (C) in subsection

    (a)

    (1) --
            (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph
        (A) , by striking ``Not later than 60 days after 
 the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
 Secretary of Veterans Affairs'' and inserting 
 ``The Secretary''; and
            (ii) in subparagraph
        (A) , by striking 
 ``Department of Veterans Affairs'' and 
 inserting ``Department'';
            (D) in subsection

    (b)

    (1) , by striking ``Not later 
 than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
 Act, the Secretary'' and inserting ``The Secretary'';
        (E) in subsection
            (c) --
            (i) in paragraph

    (1) , in the matter 
 preceding subparagraph
        (A) , by striking ``Not 
 later than 180 days after the date of the 
 enactment of this Act, the Secretary'' and 
 inserting ``The Secretary''; and
            (ii) in paragraph

    (2) , by striking 
 subparagraphs
        (A) and
        (B) and inserting ``The 
 Secretary shall require each medical facility 
 of the Department to use the method or tool 
 described in paragraph

    (1) .'';
        (F) in the section enumerator, by striking ``sec.'' 
 and inserting ``Sec. ''; and
        (G) in the section heading--
            (i) by striking ``process and requirements 
 for scheduling appointments for health care 
 from department of veterans affairs and non-
 department health care.'' and inserting 
 ``scheduling of appointments''; and
            (ii) by conforming the typeface and 
 typestyle, including capitalization, to the 
 typeface and typestyle used in the section 
 heading of 

section 1703G of such title.

    (3) Table of sections.--The table of sections at the 
 beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting, after the 
 item relating to 

section 1703G, the following new item:

``1703H. Scheduling of appointments.''.
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