II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1261 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Veterans 

Affairs to pay the reasonable costs of urgent care provided to certain 

veterans, to establish cost-sharing amounts for veterans receiving care 

at an emergency room of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 25, 2017 

Mr. CASSIDY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay the reasonable costs 

of urgent care provided to certain veterans, to establish 

cost-sharing amounts for veterans receiving care at an 

emergency room of 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 ‘‘Veterans Emergency 

5 Room Relief Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. COVERAGE OF URGENT CARE AND EMERGENCY 

2 ROOM TREATMENT OF VETERANS BY THE DE3 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

4 (a) PAYMENT OF REASONABLE COSTS OF URGENT

5 CARE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 

7 17 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 

8 inserting after section 1725 the following new sec9 tion: 

10 ‘‘§ 1725A. Payment of reasonable costs of urgent care 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter into 

12 contracts with urgent care providers under which the Sec13 retary pays the urgent care provider the reasonable costs 

14 of urgent care provided to eligible veterans by the urgent 

15 care provider. 

16 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE VETERANS.—A veteran is an eligible 

17 veteran for purposes of this section if the veteran— 

18 ‘‘(1) is enrolled in the system of annual patient 

19 enrollment established and operated under section 

20 1705(a) of this title; and 

21 ‘‘(2) has received health care under this chapter 

22 during the two-year period preceding the date on 

23 which the veteran receives urgent care under this 

24 section. 

25 ‘‘(c) COST SHARING.—(1) Except as provided in 

26 paragraph (2), the Secretary shall establish a cost-sharing 


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1 amount that eligible veterans shall pay to the Secretary 

2 to receive urgent care from an urgent care provider under 

3 this section. 

4 ‘‘(2) The cost-sharing amount established under 

5 paragraph (1) shall not apply to an eligible veteran— 

6 ‘‘(A) if the eligible veteran is admitted to a hos7 pital for treatment or observation after receiving ur8 gent care under this section; or 

9 ‘‘(B) if the eligible veteran is receiving urgent 

10 care under this section for the treatment of a serv11 ice-connected disability or condition. 

12 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF DEPARTMENT.—Notwith13 standing the coverage of an eligible veteran under a 

14 health-plan contract, the Secretary shall be considered the 

15 primary payer for any urgent care provided to the eligible 

16 veteran under this section. 

17 ‘‘(e) TYPES OF PROVIDERS.—The Secretary shall en18 sure that all types of urgent care providers, including local 

19 urgent care providers, have an opportunity to enter into 

20 a contract with the Secretary under this section. 

21 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 ‘‘(1) The term ‘health-plan contract’ has the 

23 meaning given that term in section 1725(f) of this 

24 title. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘urgent care’ has the meaning 

2 given that term by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(3) The term ‘urgent care provider’ means a 

4 health care provider that provides urgent care at a 

5 non-Department facility.’’. 

6 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec7 tions at the beginning of chapter 17 of such title is 

8 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec9 tion 1725 the following new item: 

‘‘1725A. Payment of reasonable costs of urgent care.’’. 

10 (3) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

11 Congress that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is 

12 encouraged to contract with urgent care centers that 

13 are accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting 

14 body or organization to carry out section 1725A of 

15 title 38, United States Code, as added by paragraph 

16 (1). 

17 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF COST-SHARING AMOUNT

18 FOR VETERANS RECEIVING EMERGENCY ROOM CARE

19 FROM DEPARTMENT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para21 graph (2), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall es22 tablish a cost-sharing amount that veterans shall 

23 pay to the Secretary to receive care at an emergency 

24 room of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 


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1 (2) EXCEPTION.—The cost-sharing amount es2 tablished under paragraph (1) shall not apply to a 

3 veteran if the veteran— 

4 (A) receives care for a service-connected 

5 (as defined in section 101 of title 38, United 

6 States Code) disability or condition; 

7 (B) meets a hardship exception established 

8 by the Secretary for purposes of this subsection; 

9 or 

10 (C) is admitted to a hospital for treatment 

11 or observation after receiving care at an emer12 gency room of the Department. 

13 (c) LIMITATION ON COST-SHARING AMOUNTS.—The 

14 Secretary of Veterans Affairs may not require a veteran 

15 to pay multiple cost-sharing amounts if the veteran seeks 

16 urgent care under section 1725A of title 38, United States 

17 Code, as added by subsection (a)(1), and care at an emer18 gency room of the Department of Veterans Affairs for the 

19 same condition during a period determined by the Sec20 retary for purposes of this subsection. 

21 (d) REPORT ON USE BY VETERANS OF URGENT AND

22 EMERGENCY ROOM CARE.—Not later than two years after 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act, and not less fre24 quently than once every two years thereafter, the Sec25 retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee 


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1 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

2 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 

3 on the use by veterans eligible for health care under the 

4 laws administered by the Secretary of— 

5 (1) urgent care facilities; and 

6 (2) emergency room facilities of the Depart7 ment of Veterans Affairs. 

Æ 


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