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Union Calendar No. 82 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1725 

[Report No. 115–133] 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the treatment of medical 

evidence provided by non-Department of Veterans Affairs medical professionals in support of claims for disability compensation under the laws 

administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 24, 2017 

Mr. WALZ (for himself, Mr. DENHAM, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. MCSALLY, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania, and Ms. KUSTER of 

New Hampshire) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

MAY 19, 2017 

Additional sponsors: Mr. HIGGINS of New York and Ms. SHEA-PORTER

MAY 19, 2017 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 24, 2017] 


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•HR 1725 RH

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the 

treatment of medical evidence provided by non-Department of Veterans Affairs medical professionals in support 

of claims for disability compensation under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and 

for other purposes. 


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

3 SECTION 1. REPORT ON PROGRESS OF DEPARTMENT OF 

4 VETERANS AFFAIRS ACCEPTABLE CLINICAL 

5 EVIDENCE INITIATIVE. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

8 to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

9 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep10 resentatives a report on the progress of the Acceptable Clin11 ical Evidence initiative of the Department of Veterans Af12 fairs in reducing the necessity for in-person disability ex13 aminations and other efforts to comply with the provisions 

14 of section 5125 of title 38, United States Code. 

15 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report required by 

16 subsection (a) shall include the following: 

17 (1) The number of claims eligible for the Accept18 able Clinical Evidence initiative during the period 

19 beginning on the date of the commencement of the ini20 tiative and ending on the date of the submittal of the 

21 report, disaggregated by fiscal year. 

22 (2) The total number of claims eligible for the 

23 Acceptable Clinical Evidence initiative that required 

24 a medical examiner of the Department to supplement 


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1 the evidence with information obtained during a tele2 phone interview with a claimant. 

3 (3) Information on any other initiatives or ef4 forts of the Department to further encourage the use 

5 of private medical evidence and reliance upon reports 

6 of a medical examination administered by a private 

7 physician if the report is sufficiently complete to be 

8 adequate for the purposes of adjudicating a claim. 

9 (4) The anticipated impact on the timeline and 

10 accuracy of a decision on a claim for benefits under 

11 chapter 11 or 15 of title 38, United States Code, if 

12 the Secretary were prohibited from requesting a med13 ical examination in the case of a claim in support of 

14 which a claimant submits medical evidence and a 

15 medical opinion provided by a private physician that 

16 is competent, credible, probative, and otherwise ade17 quate for the purpose of making a decision on that 

18 claim. 

19 (5) Recommendations on how the Department 

20 can measure, track, and prevent the ordering of un21 necessary medical examinations when the provision 

22 by a claimant of a medical examination administered 

23 by a private physician in support of a claim for bene24 fits under chapter 11 or 15 of title 38, United States 


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1 Code, is adequate for the purpose of making a deci2 sion on that claim. 

3 SEC. 2. ANNUAL REPORT ON SUBMITTAL OF PRIVATE MED4 ICAL EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF CLAIMS FOR 

5 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS BENE6 FITS. 

7 Not later than March 1 of fiscal years 2018 through 

8 2024, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Con9 gress a report that includes, for the calendar year preceding 

10 the year in which the report is submitted, the following for 

11 each regional office of the Department of Veterans Affairs: 

12 (1) The number of times a veteran who sub13 mitted private medical evidence in support of a claim 

14 for compensation or pension under the laws adminis15 tered by the Secretary was scheduled for an examina16 tion performed by Department personnel because the 

17 private medical evidence submitted was determined to 

18 be unacceptable. 

19 (2) The most common reasons why private med20 ical evidence submitted in support of claims for bene21 fits under the laws administered by the Secretary was 

22 determined to be unacceptable. 

23 (3) The types of disabilities for which claims for 

24 benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary 


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1 were mostly commonly denied when private medical 

2 evidence was submitted. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill 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.’’. 


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sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 82 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1725 

[Report No. 115–133] 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve 

poses. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purpensation under the laws administered by the fessionals in support of claims for disability comnon-Department of Veterans Affairs medical prothe treatment of medical evidence provided by 

MAY 19, 2017 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 

dered to be printed of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and orVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:56 May 19, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H1725.RH H1725

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