To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide that only licensed medical doctors and licensed doctors of osteopathy may perform eye surgery at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities or under contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

November 6, 2003

Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. GINGREY, Mr. JANKLOW, Mr. KELLER, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. STEARNS, Mr. WELDON of Florida, Ms. BERKLEY, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. COOPER, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. SNYDER, and Mr. STRICKLAND) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide that only licensed medical doctors and licensed doctors of osteopathy may perform eye surgery at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities or under contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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 Eye Treatment Safety (VETS) Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION AS TO PERSONS WHO MAY PERFORM EYE SURGERY FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

Section 1707 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

`(c)(1) Eye surgery at a Department facility or under contract with the Department may be performed only by an individual who is either a licensed medical doctor or a licensed doctor of osteopathy.

`(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term `eye surgery' means any procedure involving the eye or the adnexa in which human tissue is cut, burned, frozen, vaporized, ablated, probed, or otherwise altered or penetrated by incision, injection, laser, ultrasound, ionizing radiation, or by other means, in order to treat eye disease, alter or correct refractive error, or alter or enhance cosmetic appearance. Such term does not include removal of superficial ocular foreign bodies or the prescription and fitting of contact lenses for the purpose of altering refractive error.'.

END