I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5555 

To make certain improvements in the provision of medical care by the 

Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 8, 2020 

Mr. HUDSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To make certain improvements in the provision of medical 

care by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Care Veterans Deserve 

5 Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN VETERANS WITH SERV2 ICE-CONNECTED DISABILITIES TO RECEIVE 

3 NON-DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 

4 MEDICAL CARE UNDER VETERANS COMMU5 NITY CARE PROGRAM. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of subsection (d) 

7 of section 1703 of title 38, United States Code, as amend8 ed by section 101 of the Caring for Our Veterans Act of 

9 2018 (Public Law 115–182) is amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

11 the end; 

12 (2) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period 

13 and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub15 paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(F) the covered veteran has a service-con17 nected disability rated at 50 percent or higher 

18 and elects to receive care or services through a 

19 non-Department provider.’’. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

21 subsection (a) shall apply as if originally enacted in the 

22 Caring for Our Veterans Act of 2018 (Public Law 115– 

23 182). 


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1 SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF OPERATING HOURS FOR PHAR2 MACIES AND MEDICAL FACILITIES OF THE 

3 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

4 (a) EXTENSION OF OPERATING HOURS FOR PHAR5 MACIES.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall extend 

6 the operating hours for each pharmacy of the Department 

7 of Veterans Affairs during which the pharmacy offers 

8 services comparable to retail pharmacies to include— 

9 (1) operation on Saturday, Sunday, and Fed10 eral holidays; and 

11 (2) operation until 8:00 p.m. on weekdays that 

12 are not Federal holidays. 

13 (b) CONTRACTS WITH PROVIDERS DURING NIGHTS

14 AND WEEKENDS.—The Secretary shall enter into con15 tracts, including through locum tenens arrangements, with 

16 physicians and nurses that meet qualifications set forth 

17 by the Secretary for purposes of this section under which 

18 such physicians and nurses work at medical facilities of 

19 the Department during nights and weekends. 

20 (c) SUPPORT STAFF.—The Secretary may obtain ad21 ditional support staff as necessary to carry out this sec22 tion, including by hiring employees or contracting for serv23 ices. 


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1 SEC. 4. CONDUCT OF BEST-PRACTICES PEER REVIEW OF 

2 EACH MEDICAL CENTER OF THE DEPART3 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

5 may provide for the conduct by a nongovernmental hos6 pital organization of a best-practices peer review of each 

7 medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs to 

8 evaluate the efficacy of health care delivered at each such 

9 medical center. 

10 (b) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority for 

11 peer review conducted under subsection (a) to the medical 

12 centers of the Department with the longest wait times for 

13 an appointment or the worst health outcomes, as deter14 mined by the Secretary. 

Æ 


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