[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 6445 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
2d Session
H. R. 6445
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 31, 2008
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs from collecting certain copayments from veterans who
are catastrophically disabled, 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' Health Care Policy
Enhancement Act of 2008''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON COLLECTION OF CERTAIN COPAYMENTS FROM VETERANS
WHO ARE CATASTROPHICALLY DISABLED.
(a) Prohibition on Collection of Copayments and Other Fees for
Hospital or Nursing Home Care.--Section 1710 of title 38, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (i); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (g) the following new
subsection (h):
``(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a
veteran who is catastrophically disabled shall not be required to make
any payment otherwise required under subsection (f) or (g) for the
receipt of hospital care or nursing home care under this section.''.
(b) Effective Date.--Subsection (h) of section 1710 of title 38,
United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with
respect to hospital care or nursing home care provided after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO
PROVIDE COUNSELING FOR FAMILY MEMBERS OF VETERANS
RECEIVING NONSERVICE-CONNECTED TREATMENT.
Section 1782(b) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by
striking ``if--'' and all that follows and inserting a period.
SEC. 4. COMPREHENSIVE POLICY ON PAIN MANAGEMENT.
(a) Comprehensive Policy Required.--Not later than October 1, 2008,
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall develop and implement a
comprehensive policy on the management of pain experienced by veterans
enrolled for health care services provided by the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
(b) Scope of Policy.--The policy required by subsection (a) shall
cover each of the following:
(1) The systemwide management of acute and chronic pain
experienced by veterans.
(2) The standard of care for pain management to be used
throughout the Department.
(3) The consistent application of pain assessments to be
used throughout the Department.
(4) The assurance of prompt and appropriate pain care
treatment and management by the Department, systemwide, when
medically necessary.
(5) The Department's program of research related to acute
and chronic pain suffered by veterans, including pain
attributable to central and peripheral nervous system damage
characteristic of injuries incurred in modern warfare.
(6) The Department's program of pain care education and
training for health care personnel of the Department.
(7) The Department's program of patient education for
veterans suffering from acute or chronic pain and their
families.
(c) Updates.--The Secretary shall revise the policy developed under
subsection (a) on a periodic basis in accordance with experience and
evolving best practice guidelines.
(d) Consultation.--The Secretary shall develop the policy developed
under subsection (a), and revise such policy under subsection (c), in
consultation with veterans service organizations and organizations with
expertise in the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and management of
pain.
(e) Annual Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the completion and initial implementation of the policy under
subsection (a) and on October 1 of every fiscal year thereafter
through fiscal year 2018, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee
on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives a report
on the implementation of the policy developed under subsection
(a).
(2) Contents.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall
include the following:
(A) A description of the policy developed and
implemented under subsection (a) and any revisions to
such policy under subsection (c).
(B) A description of the performance measures used
to determine the effectiveness of such policy in
improving pain care for veterans systemwide.
(C) An assessment of the adequacy of the
Department's pain management services based on a survey
of patients managed in Department clinics.
(D) An assessment of the Department's research
programs relevant to the treatment of the types of
acute and chronic pain suffered by veterans.
(E) An assessment of the training provided to
Department health care personnel with respect to the
diagnosis, treatment, and management of acute and
chronic pain.
(F) An assessment of the Department's pain care-
related patient education programs.
(f) Veterans Service Organization Defined.--In this section, the
term ``veterans service organization'' means any organization
recognized by the Secretary for the representation of veterans under
section 5902 of title 38, United States Code.
SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF CONSOLIDATED PATIENT ACCOUNTING CENTERS.
(a) Establishment of Centers.--Chapter 17 of title 38, United
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1729A the following:
``Sec. 1729B. Consolidated patient accounting centers
``(a) In General.--Not later than 5 years after the date of
enactment of this section, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
establish not more than seven consolidated patient accounting centers
for conducting industry-modeled regionalized billing and collection
activities of the Department.
``(b) Functions.--The centers shall carry out the following
functions:
``(1) Reengineer and integrate all business processes of
the revenue cycle of the Department.
``(2) Standardize and coordinate all activities of the
Department related to the revenue cycle for all health care
services furnished to veterans for nonservice-connected medical
conditions.
``(3) Apply commercial industry standards for measures of
access, timeliness, and performance metrics with respect to
revenue enhancement of the Department.
``(4) Apply other requirements with respect to such revenue
cycle improvement as the Secretary may specify.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section
1729A the following:
``1729B. Consolidated patient accounting centers.''.
SEC. 6. SIMPLIFYING AND UPDATING NATIONAL STANDARDS TO ENCOURAGE
TESTING OF THE HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS.
Section 124 of the Veterans' Benefits and Services Act of 1988 (38
U.S.C. 7333 note; 102 Stat. 505) and
the item relating to such section in the table of contents of such Act
(102 Stat. 487) are repealed.
Passed the House of Representatives July 30, 2008.
Attest:
LORRAINE C. MILLER,
Clerk.