I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1749 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a pilot program 

for the provision of dental care to certain veterans, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 28, 2017 

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

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a 

pilot program for the provision of dental care to certain 

veterans, 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 Early Treat5 ment for Chronic Ailment Resurgence through Examina6 tions Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘VET CARE Act of 2017’’. 

7 SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM FOR THE PROVISION OF DENTAL 

8 CARE TO CERTAIN VETERANS. 

9 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Veterans Af10 fairs shall carry out a pilot program to provide outpatient 


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1 dental services and treatment, and related dental appli2 ances, to eligible veterans enrolled under subsection (c)(3), 

3 at no cost to such veterans. Under the pilot program, the 

4 Secretary shall determine whether there is a correlation 

5 between veterans receiving such services and treatment, 

6 and the veterans suffering fewer complications of chronic 

7 ailments, thereby yielding a lower cost of care. 

8 (b) ELIGIBLE VETERANS DEFINED.—For purposes 

9 of this section, the term ‘‘eligible veterans’’ means vet10 erans who are— 

11 (1) enrolled in the system of annual patient en12 rollment under section 1705 of title 38, United 

13 States Code; 

14 (2) not eligible for dental care under section 

15 1712 of title 38, United States Code; 

16 (3) between 40 and 70 years of age; and 

17 (4) diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. 

18 (c) APPLICATION; EVALUATION; DISQUALIFICATION; 

19 ENROLLMENT; CATEGORIZATION.— 

20 (1) APPLICATION.—Eligible veterans may elect 

21 to apply for the pilot program. 

22 (2) EVALUATION; DISQUALIFICATION.—Eligible 

23 veterans who apply for the pilot program shall re24 ceive an initial periodontal evaluation, including 

25 vertical bitewing radiographs. Any eligible veteran 


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1 diagnosed with periodontal disease that requires sur2 gery shall be disqualified from the pilot program. 

3 (3) ENROLLMENT; CATEGORIZATION.—The Sec4 retary shall enroll at least 1,500 eligible veterans 

5 who apply for the pilot program, giving preference to 

6 veterans with service-connected disabilities that in7 creases in accordance with the veterans’ disability 

8 ratings under chapter 11 of title 38, United States 

9 Code, in a manner that ensures the following: 

10 (A) One-third of eligible veterans enrolled 

11 in the pilot program shall have been diagnosed 

12 with no or mild periodontitis under paragraph 

13 (2). 

14 (B) Two-thirds of eligible veterans enrolled 

15 in the pilot program shall have been diagnosed 

16 with moderate to severe periodontitis under 

17 paragraph (2). 

18 (d) DURATION OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall 

19 carry out the pilot program during the four-year period 

20 beginning on the date that is 180 days after the effective 

21 date of this section. 

22 (e) LOCATIONS.—The pilot program shall be carried 

23 out in five facilities of the Veterans Health Administra24 tion, with one such facility in each of five Veterans InteVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 30, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1749.IH H1749

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1 grated Services Networks that the Secretary considers ap2 propriate for the pilot program. 

3 (f) PATIENT DISTRIBUTION.—Each facility shall 

4 serve not more than one-fourth and not fewer than one5 sixth of the veterans enrolled in the pilot program, in ap6 proximately even proportions of veterans categorized 

7 under subsection (c)(3). 

8 (g) COURSE OF PROGRAM.— 

9 (1) PERIODONTAL THERAPY.—The Secretary 

10 shall make timely and appropriate periodontal ther11 apy available to veterans described in subsection 

12 (c)(3)(B). 

13 (2) ELECTION OF TREATMENT.—Such veterans 

14 who elect to receive treatment shall be classified as 

15 ‘‘treated’’. 

16 (3) ANNUAL EVALUATIONS.—Each treated vet17 eran shall receive an annual dental evaluation, dur18 ing which the periodontal health of the treated vet19 eran shall be reassessed and recorded exactly as at 

20 the initial evaluation under subsection (c)(2). 

21 (4) HEALTH OUTCOME REPORTING.—For the 

22 duration of the pilot program, the Secretary shall 

23 collect and record data regarding the health of treat24 ed veterans, including events, treatments, and outVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 30, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1749.IH H1749

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1 comes, and make such data available for analysis by 

2 qualified researchers. 

3 (h) EDUCATION.— 

4 (1) HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.—The Secretary 

5 shall provide standardized instructions to all physi6 cians and dentists who work in facilities described in 

7 subsection (e) to ensure consistent evaluation and 

8 care for veterans enrolled in the pilot program in all 

9 such facilities. 

10 (2) ENROLLED VETERANS.—The Secretary 

11 shall provide each veteran enrolled in the pilot pro12 gram with an orientation, information before any 

13 care is provided under the pilot program, and an 

14 exit interview that includes information regarding 

15 how such veteran may obtain dental services and 

16 treatment after the end of the pilot program. 

17 (i) EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall 

18 notify those institutions of higher education (as that term 

19 is defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 

20 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)) that offer degrees in 

21 periodontology of the pilot program so that such institu22 tions may engage in similar studies regarding private peri23 odontal care for veterans. 


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1 (j) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

2 conclusion of the pilot program, the Secretary shall submit 

3 a report of findings to the Congress. 

4 (k) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall administer 

5 the pilot program under such regulations as the Secretary 

6 shall prescribe, including best practices regarding in7 formed consent and study registration. 

Æ 


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