I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7017 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a demonstration 
program to expand the availability of telemedicine services for veterans 
living in rural areas with certain mental health disorders, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 2, 2018 
Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire (for herself, Mr. POLIQUIN, Mr. MOONEY of 
West Virginia, Mr. GIANFORTE, Mr. WESTERMAN, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, 
and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out 
a demonstration program to expand the availability of 
telemedicine services for veterans living in rural areas 
with certain mental health disorders, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 ‘‘Enhancing Veterans’ 
Experience with Telehealth Services Act’’ or the ‘‘eVETS 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS DEMONSTRA-
TION PROGRAM ON EXPANDED AVAILABILITY 
OF TELEMEDICINE SERVICES FOR CERTAIN 
VETERANS IN RURAL AREAS. 
(a) DEMONSTRATION
PROGRAM.—Beginning not 
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry out 
a demonstration program to expand telemedicine services 
for eligible veterans. Under the pilot program, all eligible 
veterans who opt to participate in the program may choose 
to receive cognitive therapy or prolonged exposure therapy; 
which shall be delivered remotely via video calling tech-
nology through no less than 12 episodes of care per vet-
eran or a greater number of episodes, as determined by 
the veteran’s provider. 
(b) INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROVIDERS.—The Secretary 
shall create and distribute to Network Directors of Vet-
erans Integrated Services Networks, Medical Center Di-
rectors and Medical Providers who may encounter eligible 
veterans instructions describing the program and the re-
sponsibilities of each Department medical facility in fur-
nishing care to eligible veterans under the program. Such 
instructions shall— 
(1) clearly define the responsibilities of the sen-
ior executives of Department medical facilities par-
ticipating in the demonstration program; 
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(2) clearly define responsibilities of each De-
partment medical provider at Department medical 
centers participating in the demonstration program 
whose duties entail providing mental health care to 
eligible veterans; 
(3) provide required training and education on 
mental health treatments that have substantial evi-
dence supporting their use in telemedicine for each 
provider and veteran participating in the demonstra-
tion program; 
(4) define eligible models of care coordination 
Department medical facilities and participating pro-
viders may use to furnish telemedicine services 
under the demonstration program, including rec-
ommendations for selecting a model of care coordi-
nation; and 
(5) clearly define oversight and accountability 
requirements for senior executives of the Depart-
ment who are responsible for overseeing the pro-
gram, including the Veterans Health Administration, 
the National Center for PTSD, and any other rel-
evant office. 
(c) OUTREACH TO ELIGIBLE VETERANS.—Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs medical providers and medical 
facilities participating in the demonstration program shall 
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inform eligible veterans of the opportunity to participate 
in the demonstration program and provide such veterans 
with information on how to participate in such program. 
(d) STUDY OF THE PROGRAM.—For the duration of 
the demonstration program, the Secretary shall collect and 
record data regarding the health of veterans who receive 
medical care under the program, including events, treat-
ments, satisfaction survey results, dropout rates, and out-
comes, and make such data available for analysis by quali-
fied independent researchers. 
(e) DURATION.—Not later than three years and not 
sooner than two years after the date of enactment of this 
act, the Secretary shall decide whether to continue, expand 
or discontinue the demonstration program and report that 
decision to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the 
Senate and the House of Representatives. 
(f) ASSESSMENT OF THE PROGRAM.—Not later than 
two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af-
fairs of the Senate and House of Representatives an as-
sessment of the demonstration program, which shall in-
clude— 
(1) an analysis of the program prepared by 
qualified independent researchers; 
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(2) the number of veterans who participated in 
the program, broken down by State of residence and 
primary Department medical center; 
(3) the average and median number of tele-
medicine episodes of care per veteran; and 
(4) the recommendations of the Secretary re-
garding whether the program should be extended or 
expanded. 
(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘qualifying rural areas’’ means an 
area that— 
(A) is within one of— 
(i) the six States participating in the 
Telemedicine Outreach for PTSD pilot 
program, as of the date of the enactment 
of this Act, South Carolina, Iowa, Arkan-
sas, Denver, Colorado, California, and 
Washington; and 
(ii) the 10 States identified as having 
the highest concentrations of veterans liv-
ing in rural areas by the 2017 report of 
the Census Bureau’s American Community 
Survey entitled, ‘‘Veterans in Rural Amer-
ica: 2011–2015’’; and 
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(B) qualifies as ‘‘rural’’ under the defini-
tion of ‘‘rural’’ provided in the 2016 Census 
Bureau document entitled ‘‘Defining Rural at 
the U.S. Census Bureau’’ or qualifies as ‘‘high-
ly rural’’ under the meaning in Public Law 
113–146. 
(2) The term ‘‘eligible veteran’’ means a vet-
eran who— 
(A) has been diagnosed with— 
(i) post-traumatic stress disorder; or 
(ii) a mental health disorder des-
ignated by the Secretary for purposes of 
the demonstration program under this sec-
tion and published in the Federal Register; 
(B) is enrolled in the patient enrollment 
system of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
under section 1705 of title 38, United States 
Code; and 
(C) resides within a qualifying rural area. 
SEC. 3. IMPROVEMENT OF ACCESS TO BROADBAND INTER-
NET FOR RURAL VETERANS PARTICIPATING 
IN DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 
(a) EXPANSION OF ACCESS TO BROADBAND INTER-
NET.— 
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(1) PARTNERSHIP
AGREEMENTS.—The Sec-
retary may— 
(A) seek to enter into partnership agree-
ments with covered private entities to expand 
access to broadband internet, including the ex-
pansion of white space technology, for eligible 
veterans who participate in the demonstration 
program under section 2; 
(B) enter into partnership agreements, 
when appropriate, with the Secretary of Agri-
culture, the Chairman of the Federal Commu-
nications Commission, and the heads of other 
appropriate Federal entities to assist covered 
private entities with which the Secretary has 
entered into a partnership agreement under 
subparagraph (A) in the delivery of broadband 
internet to qualifying rural areas, as such term 
is defined in section 2(h)(1); and 
(C) provide assistance to private entities in 
the delivery of broadband internet to such eligi-
ble veterans by working with other private enti-
ties, including congressionally chartered veteran 
service organizations, to provide necessary in-
frastructure and other services needed in the 
delivery of white space technology. 
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(2) COST SUBSIDIES.—The Secretary may pay, 
to an eligible veteran participating in the demonstra-
tion program under section 3, an amount equal to 
the cost of obtaining internet access for the duration 
of the veteran’s participation, if— 
(A) the Secretary determines the eligible 
veteran has financial need, as determined by 
the Secretary; 
(B) such veteran meets eligibility require-
ments for the demonstration program for the 
duration of the veteran’s participation in the 
program; and 
(C) the veteran has a service-connected 
disability rated at 50 percent or higher. 
(3) INFORMATION SHARING.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the Secretary may share information 
about the location of eligible veterans partici-
pating in the demonstration program under sec-
tion 2 with covered private entities with which 
the Secretary enters into a partnership agree-
ment under paragraph (1) to aid in the delivery 
of broadband internet access to such veterans. 
(B) PRIVACY.—The Secretary shall ensure 
that data and information disclosed to covered 
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private entities conceals the identity of indi-
vidual veterans. Prior to the disclosure of any 
data or information to a private entity pursuant 
to subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall enter 
into an agreement with the covered private enti-
ty that prohibits the entity from disclosing the 
data or information to any third party or using 
such data or information for any purpose other 
than providing broadband access to eligible vet-
erans participating in the demonstration pro-
gram. 
(4) COVERED PRIVATE ENTITY.—In this sub-
section, the term ‘‘covered private entity’’ means a 
technology company or internet service provider that 
is working to expand internet access, including 
through white space technology. 
(b) PROVISION OF PRIVATE SPACES.— 
(1) PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT AUTHORITY.— 
The Secretary may seek to enter into a partnership 
agreement with private entities for the provision of 
private spaces described in paragraph (3) with 
broadband internet access for use by eligible vet-
erans participating in the demonstration program 
under section 2. 
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(2) PREFERENCE.—In entering into partner-
ship agreements under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
may give preference to entities with support services 
on location including, certified community behavioral 
health clinics, federally qualified health centers, and 
congressionally chartered veteran service organiza-
tions. 
(3) PRIVATE SPACES.—Private spaces described 
in this paragraph are private spaces— 
(A) located in qualifying rural areas as de-
fined in section 2(g)(1); and 
(B) furnished, or suitable to be furnished, 
with electronic devices needed for the delivery of 
telemedicine services to veterans under the dem-
onstration program. 
Æ 
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