I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3858 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs to enter into contracts with health care providers to improve 
health care access and care coordination for veterans, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 13, 2014 
Mr. KINZINGER of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs to enter into contracts with 
health care providers to improve health care access and 
care coordination for veterans, 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; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Veteran-Centered Access to Coordinated Health Care Act 
of 2014’’. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
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(1) veterans who are authorized by the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs to receive health care in 
the community must not lose the high quality, safe-
ty, care coordination, and other veteran-centric ele-
ments that the health care system of the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs provides; 
(2) many veterans receive health care from both 
the Department and community providers but the 
lack of care coordination among the Department and 
community providers when veterans receive pur-
chased care places veterans at risk for poor health 
outcomes and results in inefficient use of finite 
health care resources; 
(3) veteran-centric care coordination is associ-
ated with improved patient outcomes, as Department 
and non-Department health care teams coordinate 
and collaborate to provide the best care for veterans; 
and 
(4) if the Secretary purchases care for veterans 
from the private sector, such care must be secured 
in a cost-effective manner, in a way that com-
plements the larger health care system of the De-
partment by using industry standards for care and 
costs. 
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SEC. 2. COMPREHENSIVE CONTRACT CARE COORDINATION 
PROGRAM FOR VETERANS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) TYPE OF CARE.—Subsection (a) of section 
1703 of title 38, United States Code, is amended to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(a)(1) The Secretary shall provide an eligible vet-
eran with covered health services that are provided by a 
non-Department entity whom the Secretary enters into a 
contract with under this section if the Secretary deter-
mines that facilities of the Department are not capable 
of— 
‘‘(A) economically furnishing covered health 
services to such veteran because of geographical in-
accessibility; or 
‘‘(B) furnishing covered health services to such 
veteran because such facilities lack— 
‘‘(i) the required personnel who are appro-
priately trained and experienced; or 
‘‘(ii) the ability to provide timely and rea-
sonable access. 
‘‘(2) Except as otherwise provided by this chapter or 
other law, the Secretary shall ensure that health care pro-
vided to a veteran under this title by a non-Department 
entity, including under the Patient-Centered Community 
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Care program or any other care-coordination program, is 
provided in accordance with this section. 
‘‘(3) The Secretary shall provide covered health serv-
ices pursuant to this chapter at a location that is in ac-
cordance with the following priority: 
‘‘(A) A facility of the Department. 
‘‘(B) A facility of a department or agency of 
the Federal Government, or of a university, that the 
Secretary has entered into a sharing agreement with 
respect to providing such health services. 
‘‘(C) A non-Department facility in accordance 
with this section. 
‘‘(D) A non-Department facility in accordance 
with a provision of law other than this section. 
‘‘(4) The Secretary shall ensure that veterans who re-
ceive health care under this title from a non-Department 
entity are able to efficiently reenter the health care system 
of the Department, including by coordinating care. 
‘‘(5) In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) The term ‘covered health services’ means, 
with respect to an eligible veteran, any hospital care, 
medical service, rehabilitative service, or preventative 
health service that is authorized to be provided by 
the Secretary to the veteran under this chapter or 
any other provision of law. 
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