I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3980 
To eliminate the sunset date for the Veterans Choice Program of the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs, to expand eligibility for such program, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 5, 2015 
Mr. NORCROSS (for himself and Mr. MACARTHUR) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To eliminate the sunset date for the Veterans Choice Pro-
gram of the Department of Veterans Affairs, to expand 
eligibility for such program, 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 Freedom of 
Healthcare Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) All veterans who have signed up to put their 
life on the line for the lives and liberty of the people 
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of the United States deserve the opportunity to seek 
health care at a facility of their choice, regardless of 
arbitrary distance and wait-time thresholds. 
(2) Logistical impediments to veterans receiving 
health care at medical facilities of the Veterans 
Health Administration of the Department of Vet-
erans Affairs, including with respect to travel, wait 
times, and enrollment difficulty, have been found to 
exist across all demographics of veterans and are 
widely cited among the most common barriers to re-
ceiving the health care the veterans earned. 
(3) As a result of widespread reporting on such 
impediments, including regarding the death of 40 
veterans who died while waiting for health care at 
the Phoenix Veterans’ Hospital, in 2014 Congress 
investigated the matter and confirmed that such im-
pediments were pervasive and systemic. 
(4) As of September 30, 2014, there were ap-
proximately 867,000 applications by veterans to en-
roll in the health care system of the Department, 
and the Inspector General of the Department could 
not determine how long more than half of the appli-
cations had been pending. 
(5) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs has been 
unable to meet the modest goal of employing one 
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psychiatrist per 1,000 individual mental health pa-
tients of the Department. 
(6) The Inspector General found that approxi-
mately 70 percent of the hospitals of the Depart-
ment in 2014 did not have enough psychiatrists to 
meet demand. 
(7) The Inspector General found that a signifi-
cant proportion of the psychiatrists of the Depart-
ment saw in excess of 800 to 900 veterans per year 
and some veterans were only seen once per year be-
cause of the demand. 
(8) A study by the National Institutes of 
Health identified the lack of available female-specific 
medical services and wait times as key barriers to fe-
male veterans seeking health care at medical facili-
ties of the Department. 
(9) The Veterans Access, Choice, and Account-
ability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–146) made 
great strides toward providing veterans with more 
flexibility to seek health care in the setting of choice 
by the veteran, however, the metrics established by 
the Act to determine which veterans were eligible for 
such flexibility are insufficient. 
(10) Other impediments to veterans receiving 
health care at medical facilities of the Department 
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can include long commutes on group transport, or 
having to cross bridges or State lines to receive care. 
(11) Many veterans like the health care pro-
vided by the Department and the hospitals of the 
Department hold particular expertise in treating ail-
ments of veterans. 
(12) Veterans should have the option to stay 
with the Department if the veteran likes the health 
care system of the Department. 
SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF CHOICE PROGRAM OF DEPARTMENT 
OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
(a) ELIMINATION OF SUNSET.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 101 of the Veterans 
Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 
(Public Law 113–146; 38 U.S.C. 1701 note) is 
amended— 
(A) by striking subsection (p); and 
(B) by redesignating subsections (q), (r), 
(s), and (t) as subsections (p), (q), (r), and (s), 
respectively. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Such section 
is amended— 
(A) in subsection (i)(2), by striking ‘‘dur-
ing the period in which the Secretary is author-
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ized to carry out this section pursuant to sub-
section (p)’’; and 
(B) in subsection (p)(2), as redesignated 
by paragraph (1)(B), by striking subparagraph 
(F). 
(b) EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of such sec-
tion is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE VETERANS.—A veteran is an eligible 
veteran for purposes of this section if the veteran is en-
rolled in the patient enrollment system of the Department 
of Veterans Affairs established and operated under section 
1705 of title 38, United States Code, including any such 
veteran who has not received hospital care or medical serv-
ices from the Department and has contacted the Depart-
ment seeking an initial appointment from the Department 
for the receipt of such care or services.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Such section 
is amended— 
(A) in subsection (c)(1)— 
(i) in the matter preceding subpara-
graph (A), by striking ‘‘In the case of an 
eligible veteran described in subsection 
(b)(2)(A), the Secretary shall, at the elec-
tion of the eligible veteran’’ and inserting 
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‘‘The Secretary shall, at the election of an 
eligible veteran’’; and 
(ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘described in such subsection’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘of the Veterans Health Administra-
tion’’; 
(B) in subsection (f)(1), by striking ‘‘sub-
section (b)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)’’; 
(C) in subsection (g), by striking para-
graph (3); and 
(D) in subsection (p)(2)(A), as redesig-
nated by subsection (a)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘, 
disaggregated by—’’ and all that follows 
through ‘‘subsection (b)(2)(D)’’. 
(c) PROVISION OF CARE BY THE DEPARTMENT.—In 
carrying out chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code, 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that vet-
erans enrolled in the health care system established under 
section 1705(a) of such title, particularly such veterans 
with service-connected disabilities rated 50 percent or 
greater described in paragraph (1) of such section, are 
able to receive— 
(1) health care at medical facilities of the De-
partment within the wait-time goals described in sec-
tion 101(c)(1) of the Veterans Access, Choice, and 
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Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–146; 
38 U.S.C. 1701 note); and 
(2) the highest degree of quality care possible, 
with an emphasis on maintaining the highest degree 
of quality in treating ailments that are unique to or 
prevalent among the veteran population, including 
with respect to mental health services. 
(d) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall submit to Congress a report on the following: 
(1) The efficacy of the Veterans Choice Pro-
gram established by section 101 of the Veterans Ac-
cess, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Public 
Law 113–146; 38 U.S.C. 1701 note) with respect to 
veterans being able to access the health care re-
quired by the veteran, including any recommenda-
tions of the Secretary to improve such access. 
(2) The efficacy of the Secretary with respect to 
ensuring that veterans enrolled in the health care 
system established under section 1705(a) of title 38, 
United States Code, who need to or elect to receive 
health care at medical facilities of the Department 
are able to receive such care. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to hospital care and 
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medical services furnished under such section on and after 
the date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
Æ 
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