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[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1725 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.1725

                     One Hundred Fifteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America

                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
           the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen

                                 An Act

 
 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit certain reports 
relating to medical evidence submitted in support of claims for benefits 
              under the laws administered by the Secretary.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. REPORT ON PROGRESS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 
ACCEPTABLE CLINICAL EVIDENCE INITIATIVE.
    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs 
of the House of Representatives a report on the progress of the 
Acceptable Clinical Evidence initiative of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs in reducing the necessity for in-person disability examinations 
and other efforts to comply with the provisions of section 5125 of 
title 38, United States Code.
    (b) Contents of Report.--The report required by subsection (a) 
shall include the following:
        (1) The number of claims eligible for the Acceptable Clinical 
    Evidence initiative during the period beginning on the date of the 
    commencement of the initiative and ending on the date of the 
    submittal of the report, disaggregated by fiscal year.
        (2) The total number of claims eligible for the Acceptable 
    Clinical Evidence initiative that required a medical examiner of 
    the Department to supplement the evidence with information obtained 
    during a telephone interview with a claimant.
        (3) Information on any other initiatives or efforts of the 
    Department to further encourage the use of private medical evidence 
    and reliance upon reports of a medical examination administered by 
    a private physician if the report is sufficiently complete to be 
    adequate for the purposes of adjudicating a claim.
        (4) The anticipated impact on the timeline and accuracy of a 
    decision on a claim for benefits under chapter 11 or 15 of title 
    38, United States Code, if the Secretary were prohibited from 
    requesting a medical examination in the case of a claim in support 
    of which a claimant submits medical evidence and a medical opinion 
    provided by a private physician that is competent, credible, 
    probative, and otherwise adequate for the purpose of making a 
    decision on that claim.
        (5) Recommendations on how the Department can measure, track, 
    and prevent the ordering of unnecessary medical examinations when 
    the provision by a claimant of a medical examination administered 
    by a private physician in support of a claim for benefits under 
    chapter 11 or 15 of title 38, United States Code, is adequate for 
    the purpose of making a decision on that claim.
SEC. 2. ANNUAL REPORT ON SUBMITTAL OF PRIVATE MEDICAL EVIDENCE IN 
SUPPORT OF CLAIMS FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS BENEFITS.
    Not later than March 1 of fiscal years 2018 through 2024, the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress a report that 
includes, for the calendar year preceding the year in which the report 
is submitted, the following for each regional office of the Department 
of Veterans Affairs:
        (1) The number of times a veteran who submitted private medical 
    evidence in support of a claim for compensation or pension under 
    the laws administered by the Secretary was scheduled for an 
    examination performed by Department personnel because the private 
    medical evidence submitted was determined to be unacceptable.
        (2) The most common reasons why private medical evidence 
    submitted in support of claims for benefits under the laws 
    administered by the Secretary was determined to be unacceptable.
        (3) The types of disabilities for which claims for benefits 
    under the laws administered by the Secretary were mostly commonly 
    denied when private medical evidence was submitted.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.
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