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[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1562 Reported in House (RH)]

                                                 Union Calendar No. 104
108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1562

                      [Report No. 108-114, Part I]

To amend title 38, United States Code, to enhance the authority of the 
    Department of Veterans Affairs to recover costs of medical care 
 furnished to veterans and other persons by the Department from third 
  parties that provide health insurance coverage to such veterans and 
                             other persons.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 2, 2003

  Mr. Beauprez (for himself, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Evans, Mr. 
 Simmons, and Mr. Rodriguez) introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

                              May 19, 2003

  Reported with amendments and referred to the Committee on Ways and 
      Means for a period ending not later than May 23, 2003, for 
  consideration of such provisions of the bill and amendments as fall 
within the jurisdiction of that committee pursuant to clause 1(s), rule 
                                   X
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

                              May 23, 2003

   Referral to the Committee on Ways and Means extended for a period 
                  ending not later than June 13, 2003

                             June 13, 2003

   Referral to the Committee on Ways and Means extended for a period 
                  ending not later than June 27, 2003

                             June 27, 2003

   Referral to the Committee on Ways and Means extended for a period 
                  ending not later than July 11, 2003

                             July 11, 2003

 Committee on Ways and Means discharged; committed to the Committee of 
  the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
 [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 
                                2, 2003]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to enhance the authority of the 
    Department of Veterans Affairs to recover costs of medical care 
 furnished to veterans and other persons by the Department from third 
  parties that provide health insurance coverage to such veterans and 
                             other persons.

    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 Cost Recovery 
Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO RECOVER MEDICAL 
              COSTS FROM THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS AS IF IT IS A PREFERRED 
              PROVIDER ORGANIZATION.

    (a) In General.--Section 1729(f) of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``The 
absence of a participation agreement or other contractual arrangement 
entered into by the Secretary with a person obligated to provide, or to 
pay, the expenses of health services under a health-plan contract or 
with a third party that is a preferred provider organization may not be 
used or operate to prevent, or reduce the amount of, any such recovery 
or collection by the United States.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply only with respect to care and services furnished under chapter 17 
of title 38, United States Code, on and after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.

SEC. 3. RECOVERY OF COSTS OF HEALTH CARE AND SERVICES PROVIDED TO 
              PERSONS OTHER THAN VETERANS.

    (a) Cost Recovery.--Section 1729 of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(j)(1) Whenever the Secretary furnishes care and services to a 
person other than a veteran, the United States shall have the right to 
recover or collect charges for such care or services in the same 
manner, and to the same extent, as is provided under this section for 
care and services furnished to a veteran, except that for such purpose 
the terms `health-plan contract' and `third-party' shall have the 
meanings set forth in paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively, of section 
1725(f) of this title.
    ``(2) The amounts of charges under paragraph (1) shall be in such 
amounts as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation.''.
    (b) Technical Amendments.--Subsection (a)(2) of such section is 
amended--
            (1) by inserting ``or'' at the end of subparagraph (C); and
            (2) by striking subparagraphs (D) and (E) and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(D) that is incurred by a veteran who is entitled to care 
        (or payment of the expenses of care) under a health-plan 
contract, but, in the case of a veteran who has a service-connected 
disability, only with respect to care and services furnished before 
October 1, 2007.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
apply only with respect to care and services furnished under chapter 17 
of title 38, United States Code, on and after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.

SEC. 4. NAME OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HEALTH CARE FACILITY, 
              CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

     The Department of Veterans Affairs health care facility located at 
820 South Damen Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, shall after the date of 
the enactment of this Act be known and designated as the ``Jesse Brown 
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center''. Any reference to such 
facility in any law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record 
of the United States shall be considered to be a reference to the Jesse 
Brown Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

SEC. 5. NAME OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OUTPATIENT CLINIC, NEW 
              LONDON, CONNECTICUT.

    The Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic located in New 
London, Connecticut, shall after the date of the enactment of this Act 
be known and designated as the ``John J. McGuirk Department of Veterans 
Affairs Outpatient Clinic''. Any reference to such outpatient clinic in 
any law, regulation, map, document, record, or other paper of the 
United States shall be considered to be a reference to the John J. 
McGuirk Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic.
            Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to amend title 38, 
        United States Code, to enhance the authority of the Department 
        of Veterans Affairs to recover costs of medical care furnished 
        to veterans and other persons by the Department from third 
        parties that provide health insurance coverage to such veterans 
        and other persons, and for other purposes.''.

                                                 Union Calendar No. 104

108th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 1562

                      [Report No. 108-114, Part I]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend title 38, United States Code, to enhance the authority of the 
    Department of Veterans Affairs to recover costs of medical care 
 furnished to veterans and other persons by the Department from third 
  parties that provide health insurance coverage to such veterans and 
                             other persons.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             July 11, 2003

 Committee on Ways and Means discharged; committed to the Committee of 
  the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
```