I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3094
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish standards of access 
to care for veterans seeking health care from the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 16, 2003
Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida (for herself, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. GREEN 
of Wisconsin, Mr. PAUL, Mr. BRADLEY of New Hampshire, Mr. FROST, 
Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. SCHROCK, Mr. 
RENZI, Mr. COLE, Mr. MICA, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of 
Florida, Mr. GUTKNECHT, and Mr. JONES of North Carolina) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Af-
fairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish stand-
ards of access to care for veterans seeking health care 
from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other 
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Timely Ac-
cess to Health Care Act’’.
SEC. 2. STANDARDS FOR ACCESS TO CARE. 
(a) REQUIRED STANDARDS FOR ACCESS TO CARE.—
Section 1703 of title 38, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(d)(1) For a veteran seeking primary care from the 
Department, the standard for access to care, determined 
from the date on which the veteran contacts the Depart-
ment seeking an appointment until the date on which a 
visit with a primary-care provider is completed, is 30 days. 
‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary shall prescribe an appropriate 
standard for access to care applicable to waiting times at 
Department health-care facilities, determined from the 
time at which a veteran’s visit is scheduled until the time 
at which the veteran is seen by the provider with whom 
the visit is scheduled. 
‘‘(B) The Secretary shall periodically review the per-
formance of Department health-care facilities compared to 
the standard prescribed under subparagraph (B). The 
Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af-
fairs of the Senate and House of Representatives an an-
nual report providing an assessment of the Department’s 
performance in meeting that standard. 
‘‘(3) Effective on the first day of the first fiscal year 
beginning after the date of the enactment of this section, 
but subject to paragraph (4), in a case in which the Sec-
retary is unable to meet the standard for access to care
applicable under paragraph (1) or (2), the Secretary shall, 
or with respect to a veteran described in section 
1705(a)(8) of this title may, use the authority of sub-
section (a) to furnish health care and services for that vet-
eran in a non-Department facility. In any such case—
‘‘(A) payments by the Secretary may not exceed 
the reimbursement rate for similar outpatient serv-
ices paid by the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services under part B of the medicare program (as 
defined in section 1781(d)(4)(A) of this title); and 
‘‘(B) the non-Department facility may not bill 
the veteran for any difference between the facility’s 
billed charges and the amount paid by the Secretary 
under subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(4) Paragraph (3) shall not apply to a veteran en-
rolled or seeking care at a Department facility within a 
Department geographic service area that has a compliance 
rate, determined over the first quarter of the first cal-
endar-year beginning after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, for the standards for access to care under para-
graphs (1) and (2) of 90 percent or more. The Secretary 
shall make the determination of the compliance rate for 
each Department geographic service area for purposes of 
the preceding sentence not later than July 1 of the first
calendar-year beginning after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
‘‘(5)(A) The Secretary shall submit to the Commit-
tees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Rep-
resentatives for each calendar-year quarter, not later than 
60 days after the end of the quarter, a comprehensive re-
port on the experience of the Department during the quar-
ter covered by the report with respect to waiting times 
for veterans seeking appointments with a Department 
health-care provider. 
‘‘(B) Each report under subparagraph (A) shall in-
clude the total number of veterans waiting, shown for each 
geographic service area by the following categories: 
‘‘(i) Those waiting under 30 days for scheduled 
appointments. 
‘‘(ii) Those waiting over 30 days but less than 
60 days. 
‘‘(iii) Those waiting over 60 days but less than 
4 months. 
‘‘(iv) Those waiting over 4 months but cannot 
be scheduled within 6 months. 
‘‘(v) Those who are waiting over 6 months but 
cannot be scheduled within 9 months of seeking 
care.
quarter ending on December 31 of the first calendar year 
beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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