S.Amdt. 2800

SA 2800. Mr. THUNE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2763 proposed by Mr. Kirk (for himself, Mr. Tester, and
Ms. Mikulski) to the bill H.R. 2029, making appropriations for military
construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, and for other purposes;
which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of title II, add the following:
Sec. 2__. (a)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law
and except as provided in paragraph (3), the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs and the Director of the Indian Health
Service shall enter into a memorandum of understanding, in
consultation with Indian tribes that are impacted by the
memorandum of understanding, on a national or regional basis,
that authorizes the Indian Health Service to pay to the
Department of Veterans Affairs copayments owed to the
Department by veterans who are beneficiaries of the Indian
Health Service for services rendered by the Department,
including services rendered under a contract with a non-
Department health care provider, to such veterans pursuant to
a referral from a facility of the Indian Health Service under
the purchased and referred care program of the Indian Health
Service.
(2) In entering into a memorandum of understanding under
paragraph (1), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the
Director of the Indian Health Service shall take into account
any findings from the report required under subsection (b).
(3) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Director of
the Indian Health Service are not required to enter into a
memorandum of understanding under paragraph (1) if the
Secretary and the Director jointly certify to the appropriate
committees of Congress that such a memorandum of
understanding would--
(A)(i) decrease the quality of health care provided to
veterans who are beneficiaries of the Indian Health Service;
and
(ii) impede the access of such veterans to health care; or
(B) substantially decrease the quality of or access to
health care by individuals receiving health care from the
Department of Veterans Affairs or beneficiaries of the Indian
Health Service.
(b) Not later than 45 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit
to Congress a report that contains--
(1) the number, disaggregated by State, of veterans who are
beneficiaries of the Indian Health Service and have received
health care at a medical facility of the Department of
Veterans Affairs;
(2) the number, disaggregated by State and calendar year,
of veterans who are beneficiaries of the Indian Health
Service and were referred to a medical facility of the
Department from a facility of the Indian Health Service
during the period beginning on January 1, 2010, and ending on
December 31, 2015; and
(3) an update on efforts of the Department to streamline
health care for veterans who are beneficiaries of the Indian
Health Service and have received health care at a medical
facility of the Department and at a facility of the Indian
Health Service, including--
(A) any changes to the provision of health care required
under the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1601
et seq.); and
(B) any barriers to efficiently streamlining the provision
of health care to veterans who are beneficiaries of the
Indian Health Service.
(c) In this section--
(1) the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on
Indian Affairs of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives;
(2) the term ``beneficiaries of the Indian Health Service''
means individuals eligible for assistance from the Indian
Health Service; and
(3) the term ``Indian tribe'' has the meaning given that
term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
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