To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve access to health care for rural veterans, and for other purposes.

June 5, 2003

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

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve access to health care for rural veterans, 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 `Rural Veterans Access to Care Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. IMPROVED ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE FOR RURAL VETERANS.

(a) IN GENERAL- (1) Chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

`Sec. 1730A. Access to care for rural veterans

`(a) The Secretary shall ensure that funds allocated pursuant to subsection (b) are used in accordance with that subsection to improve access to medical services for highly rural or geographically remote veterans by using the contract authority of section 1703 of this title and other authorities available to the Secretary to improve such access to care.

`(b)(1) The Secretary shall provide that, of the amounts made available for any fiscal year for the Medical Care appropriation for the Department, not less than 5 percent shall be available only for treatment of veterans described in subsection (c) for--

`(A) acute or chronic symptom management;

`(B) nontherapeutic medical services; and

`(C) other medical services as determined appropriate in the case of any veteran by the director of the appropriate geographic service region of the Department, after consultation with the Department physician responsible for primary care of the veteran.

`(2) In the allocation of such percentage of funds to geographic service regions of the Department, such funds for any fiscal year shall initially be allocated in an identical percentage to each such service region. However, upon a determination by the Secretary that a particular service region will not use all of the funds so allocated for a fiscal year for highly rural or geographically remote veterans, the Secretary shall reallocate those funds to one or more other service regions, to be available only for treatment of veterans described in subsection (c) for purposes described in paragraph (1).

`(c) Veterans referred to in subsection (b)(1) as described in this subsection are veterans--

`(1) who are enrolled in the veterans health care system under section 1705 of this title or have a service-connected disability; and

`(2) who, pursuant to subsection (e), are considered to be highly rural or geographically remote veterans.

`(d) After the end of the third fiscal year during which this section is in effect, the Secretary shall review the operation of this section and, if the Secretary determines that an adjustment in the percentage in effect under subsection (b)(1) is necessary, shall recommend to Congress an adjustment to such percentage. The Secretary shall include with any such recommendation a recommendation as to whether the Secretary should have the authority to apply the overall percentage through the use of different percentages for the various geographic service regions of the Department.

`(e) The Secretary shall prescribe by regulation the veterans considered to be highly rural or geographically remote veterans for the purposes of this section. The Secretary shall include as such a veteran any veteran for whom the driving time to reach a Department health-care facility is 60 minutes or greater. The Secretary may provide for a lesser driving time in the case of any veteran if the Secretary determines that a driving time of 60 minutes or greater imposes a hardship on such veteran or otherwise is in the best interest of the veteran.'.

(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

`1730A. Access to care for rural veterans.'.

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE- Section 1730A of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take effect beginning with funds appropriated for fiscal year 2005.

END