I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2214 
To improve the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter 
into contracts with private physicians to conduct medical disability exami-
nations. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 1, 2015 
Mr. ABRAHAM (for himself, Mr. BOUSTANY, and Mrs. WALORSKI) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To improve the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
to enter into contracts with private physicians to conduct 
medical disability examinations. 
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 ‘‘Disabled Veterans’ Ac-
cess to Medical Exams Improvement Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO AUTHORITY FOR PERFORM-
ANCE OF MEDICAL DISABILITIES EXAMINA-
TIONS BY CONTRACT PHYSICIANS. 
(a) EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY AUTHORITY.—Sub-
section (c) of section 704 of the Veterans Benefits Act 
of 2003 (38 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended by striking 
‘‘December 31, 2015’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 
2017’’. 
(b) LICENSURE OF CONTRACT PHYSICIANS.— 
(1) TEMPORARY
AUTHORITY.—Such section 
704 is further amended— 
(A) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub-
section (e); and 
(B) by inserting after subsection (c) the 
following new subsection (d): 
‘‘(d) LICENSURE OF CONTRACT PHYSICIANS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any law 
regarding the licensure of physicians, a physician de-
scribed in paragraph (2) may conduct an examina-
tion pursuant to a contract entered into under sub-
section (b) at any location in any State, the District 
of Columbia, or a Commonwealth, territory, or pos-
session of the United States, so long as the examina-
tion is within the scope of the authorized duties 
under such contract and the physician is not barred 
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from conducting such an examination in the location 
in which it occurs. 
‘‘(2) PHYSICIAN DESCRIBED.—A physician de-
scribed in this paragraph is a physician who— 
‘‘(A) has a current license to practice the 
health care profession of the physician; and 
‘‘(B) is performing authorized duties for 
the Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant to 
a contract entered into under subsection (b).’’. 
(2) PILOT PROGRAM.—Section 504 of the Vet-
erans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 1996 (38 
U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended— 
(A) by redesignating subsections (c) and 
(d) as subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and 
(B) by inserting after subsection (b) the 
following new subsection (c): 
‘‘(c) LICENSURE OF CONTRACT PHYSICIANS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any law 
regarding the licensure of physicians, a physician de-
scribed in paragraph (2) may conduct an examina-
tion pursuant to a contract entered into under sub-
section (a) at any location in any State, the District 
of Columbia, or a Commonwealth, territory, or pos-
session of the United States, so long as the examina-
tion is within the scope of the authorized duties 
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under such contract and the physician is not barred 
from conducting such an examination in the location 
in which it occurs. 
‘‘(2) PHYSICIAN DESCRIBED.—A physician de-
scribed in this paragraph is a physician who— 
‘‘(A) has a current license to practice the 
health care profession of the physician; and 
‘‘(B) is performing authorized duties for 
the Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant to 
a contract entered into under subsection (a).’’. 
(c) EXPANSION OF PILOT PROGRAM.—Subsection (b) 
of such section 504 is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) LOCATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) NUMBER.—The Secretary may carry out 
the pilot program under this section through not 
more than 15 regional offices of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs. 
‘‘(2) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall select 
the regional offices under paragraph (1) by ana-
lyzing appropriate data to determine the regional of-
fices that require support. Such appropriate data 
shall include— 
‘‘(A) the number of backlogged claims; 
‘‘(B) the total pending case workload; 
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‘‘(C) the length of time cases have been 
pending; 
‘‘(D) the accuracy of completed cases; and 
‘‘(E) the overall timeliness of completed 
cases. 
‘‘(3) ANNUAL ANALYSIS.—The Secretary shall 
carry out the data analysis of the regional offices 
under paragraph (2) during each year in which the 
program under this section is carried out to deter-
mine the regional offices selected under paragraph 
(1) for such year.’’. 
Æ 
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