I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2628 

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

Affairs to provide administrative support to providers of dental care 

who provide such care to veterans that is not furnished under such 

title, 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 

MAY 9, 2019 

Mr. BILIRAKIS (for himself, Mr. FERGUSON, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. MAST, Mr. 

HASTINGS, and Miss GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N of Puerto Rico) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

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

Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide administrative 

support to providers of dental care who provide such 

care to veterans that is not furnished under such title, 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Early Treat3 ment for Chronic Ailment Resurgence through Examina4 tions Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘VET CARE Act of 2019’’. 

5 SEC. 2. ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITY PRO6 VIDERS OF DENTAL CARE. 

7 Section 1712 of title 38, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

10 subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and 

11 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol12 lowing new subsection (d): 

13 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary may furnish, to a provider of 

14 dental care described in paragraph (2), administrative 

15 support (including information for the provider to share 

16 with veterans regarding the dental insurance plan under 

17 section 1712C of this title) related to dental care described 

18 in paragraph (2). 

19 ‘‘(2) Dental care described in this paragraph is— 

20 ‘‘(A) provided to a veteran; 

21 ‘‘(B) not furnished under a law administered by 

22 the Secretary; and’’. 

23 SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM FOR THE PROVISION OF DENTAL 

24 CARE TO CERTAIN VETERANS. 

25 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Veterans Af26 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 VETERAN DEFINED.—For purposes of 

9 this section, the term ‘‘eligible veteran’’ means a veteran 

10 who— 

11 (1) is enrolled in the system of annual patient 

12 enrollment under section 1705 of title 38, United 

13 States Code; 

14 (2) is not eligible for dental care under section 

15 1712 of title 38, United States Code; 

16 (3) the Secretary determines does not receive 

17 regular periodontal care; 

18 (4) is between 40 and 70 years of age; and 

19 (5) has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. 

20 (c) APPLICATION; EVALUATION; DISQUALIFICATION; 

21 ENROLLMENT; CATEGORIZATION.— 

22 (1) APPLICATION.—An eligible veteran may 

23 elect to apply for the pilot program. 

24 (2) EVALUATION; DISQUALIFICATION.—An eli25 gible veteran who applies for the pilot program shall 


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1 receive an initial periodontal evaluation, including 

2 vertical bitewing radiographs. Any eligible veteran 

3 diagnosed with periodontal disease that requires sur4 gery shall be disqualified from the pilot program. 

5 (3) ENROLLMENT; CATEGORIZATION.—The Sec6 retary shall enroll at least 1,500 eligible veterans 

7 who apply for the pilot program, giving preference to 

8 veterans with service-connected disabilities that in9 creases in accordance with the veterans’ disability 

10 ratings under chapter 11 of title 38, United States 

11 Code, in a manner that ensures the following: 

12 (A) One-third of eligible veterans enrolled 

13 in the pilot program shall have been diagnosed 

14 with no or mild periodontitis under paragraph 

15 (2). 

16 (B) Two-thirds of eligible veterans enrolled 

17 in the pilot program shall have been diagnosed 

18 with moderate to severe periodontitis under 

19 paragraph (2). 

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

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

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

23 date of this section. 

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

25 out in five facilities of the Veterans Health AdministraVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:37 May 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2628.IH H2628

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1 tion, with one such facility in each of five Veterans Inte2 grated Services Networks that the Secretary considers ap3 propriate for the pilot program. 

4 (f) PATIENT DISTRIBUTION.—Each facility shall 

5 serve not more than one-fourth and not fewer than one6 sixth of the veterans enrolled in the pilot program, in ap7 proximately even proportions of veterans categorized 

8 under subsection (c)(3). 

9 (g) COURSE OF PROGRAM.— 

10 (1) PERIODONTAL THERAPY.—The Secretary 

11 shall make timely and appropriate periodontal ther12 apy available to veterans described in subsection 

13 (c)(3)(B). 

14 (2) ELECTION OF TREATMENT.—Such veterans 

15 who elect to receive treatment shall be classified as 

16 ‘‘treated’’. 

17 (3) ANNUAL EVALUATIONS.—Each treated vet18 eran shall receive an annual dental evaluation, dur19 ing which the periodontal health of the treated vet20 eran shall be reassessed and recorded exactly as at 

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

22 (4) HEALTH OUTCOME REPORTING.—For the 

23 duration of the pilot program, the Secretary shall 

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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 periodontolo21 gy of the pilot program so that such institutions may en22 gage in similar studies regarding private periodontal care 

23 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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