I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5262 
To eliminate the sunset date for the Veterans Choice Program of the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs, to expand eligibility for such program, and 
to extend certain operating hours for pharmacies and medical facilities 
of the Department, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 17, 2016 
Mr. HUDSON (for himself and Mr. RUPPERSBERGER) 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 to extend certain oper-
ating hours for pharmacies and medical facilities of the 
Department, 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 ‘‘Care Veterans Deserve 
Act of 2016’’. 
SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF VETERANS CHOICE PROGRAM. 
(a) ELIMINATION OF SUNSET.— 
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(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-
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 FOR PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subsection (b)(2) of such 
section is amended— 
(A) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking 
‘‘or’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (D)(ii)(II), by strik-
ing the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 
and 
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(C) by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph: 
‘‘(E) has a service-connected disability 
rated at 50 percent or more.’’. 
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Subsection 
(g)(3) of such section is amended by striking ‘‘or 
(D)’’ and inserting ‘‘, (D), or (E)’’. 
SEC. 3. ACCESS OF VETERANS TO WALK-IN CLINICS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 17 of title 
38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after sec-
tion 1703 the following new section: 
‘‘§ 1703A. Hospital care and medical services at walk- 
in clinics 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter into 
a contract with a national chain of walk-in clinics to pro-
vide the hospital care and medical services offered in such 
clinics to veterans enrolled in the system of annual patient 
enrollment established and operated under section 1705 
of this title. 
‘‘(b) NO
AUTHORIZATION
OR
COPAYMENT
RE-
QUIRED.—In receiving hospital care or medical services at 
a walk-in clinic under subsection (a), a veteran is not re-
quired— 
‘‘(1) to obtain authorization before receiving 
such care or services at the clinic; or 
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‘‘(2) to pay a copayment to the clinic or the De-
partment in connection with the receipt of such care 
or services. 
‘‘(c) LOCATIONS.—The Secretary may not require a 
national chain of walk-in clinics to expand their locations 
as a condition of a contract entered into under subsection 
(a). 
‘‘(d) TRANSMITTAL OF INFORMATION.—(1) The na-
tional chain of walk-in clinics with which the Secretary 
has entered into a contract under subsection (a) shall es-
tablish an automated system that transmits to the Sec-
retary on a weekly basis information regarding the hos-
pital care or medical services provided to veterans under 
this section during such week. 
‘‘(2) The automated system under paragraph (1) 
shall be established in a manner that allows the system 
to securely transmit information to the electronic health 
record of a veteran regarding the hospital care and med-
ical services provided to the veteran under this section. 
‘‘(3) Transmittal of information under paragraph (1) 
may not be required as a condition of payment for hospital 
care or medical services provided under this section.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of chapter 17 of such title is amended 
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by inserting after the item relating to section 1703 the 
following new item: 
‘‘1703A. Hospital care and medical services at walk-in clinics.’’. 
SEC. 4. LICENSURE OF HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS OF 
THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 
PROVIDING TREATMENT VIA TELEMEDICINE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 17 of 
title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
section 1730A the following new section: 
‘‘§ 1730B. Licensure of health care professionals pro-
viding treatment via telemedicine 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any provision 
of law regarding the licensure of health care professionals, 
a covered health care professional may practice the health 
care profession of the health care professional at any loca-
tion in any State, regardless of where such health care 
professional or the patient is located, if the health care 
professional is using telemedicine to provide treatment to 
an individual under this chapter. 
‘‘(b) LOCATION OF CARE.—Subsection (a) shall apply 
to a covered health care professional providing treatment 
to a patient regardless of whether such health care profes-
sional or patient is located in a facility owned by the Fed-
eral Government during such treatment. 
‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion may be construed to remove, limit, or otherwise affect 
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any obligation of a covered health care professional under 
the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.). 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘covered health care professional’ 
means a health care professional who is— 
‘‘(A) authorized by the Secretary to pro-
vide health care under this chapter, including a 
private health care professional who provides 
such care under a contract or agreement en-
tered into with the Secretary, including a con-
tract entered into under section 1703 of this 
title; and 
‘‘(B) licensed, registered, or certified in a 
State to practice the health care profession of 
the health care professional. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘telemedicine’ means the use of 
telecommunication technology and information tech-
nology to provide health care or support the provi-
sion of health care in situations in which the patient 
and health care professional are separated by geo-
graphic distance.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of chapter 17 of such title is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 1730A the 
following new item: 
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‘‘1730B. Licensure of health care professionals providing treatment via telemedi-
cine.’’. 
(c) REPORT ON TELEMEDICINE.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than one year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 
Representatives a report on the effectiveness of the 
use of telemedicine by the Department of Veterans 
Affairs. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para-
graph (1) shall include an assessment of the fol-
lowing: 
(A) The satisfaction of veterans with tele-
medicine furnished by the Department. 
(B) The satisfaction of health care pro-
viders in providing telemedicine furnished by 
the Department. 
(C) The effect of telemedicine furnished by 
the Department on the following: 
(i) The ability of veterans to access 
health care, whether from the Department 
or from non-Department health care pro-
viders. 
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(ii) The frequency of use by veterans 
of telemedicine. 
(iii) The productivity of health care 
providers. 
(iv) Wait times for an appointment 
for the receipt of health care from the De-
partment. 
(v) The reduction, if any, in the use 
by veterans of services at Department fa-
cilities and non-Department facilities. 
(D) The types of appointments for the re-
ceipt of telemedicine furnished by the Depart-
ment that were provided during the one-year 
period preceding the submittal of the report. 
(E) The number of appointments for the 
receipt of telemedicine furnished by the Depart-
ment that were requested during such period, 
disaggregated by Veterans Integrated Service 
Network. 
(F) Savings by the Department, if any, in-
cluding travel costs, of furnishing health care 
through the use of telemedicine during such pe-
riod. 
(3) TELEMEDICINE
DEFINED.—In this sub-
section, the term ‘‘telemedicine’’ has the meaning 
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given that term in section 1730B(d)(2) of title 38, 
United States Code, as added by subsection (a). 
SEC. 5. EXTENSION OF OPERATING HOURS FOR PHAR-
MACIES AND MEDICAL FACILITIES OF THE 
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
(a) EXTENSION OF OPERATING HOURS FOR PHAR-
MACIES.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall extend 
the operating hours for each pharmacy of the Department 
of Veterans Affairs during which the pharmacy offers 
services comparable to retail pharmacies to include— 
(1) operation on Saturday, Sunday, and Fed-
eral holidays; and 
(2) operation until 8:00 p.m. on weekdays that 
are not Federal holidays. 
(b) CONTRACTS WITH PROVIDERS DURING NIGHTS 
AND WEEKENDS.—The Secretary shall enter into con-
tracts, including through locum tenens arrangements, with 
physicians and nurses that meet qualifications set forth 
by the Secretary for purposes of this section under which 
such physicians and nurses work at medical facilities of 
the Department during nights and weekends. 
(c) SUPPORT STAFF.—The Secretary may obtain ad-
ditional support staff as necessary to carry out this sec-
tion, including by hiring employees or contracting for serv-
ices. 
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SEC. 6. CONDUCT OF BEST-PRACTICES PEER REVIEW OF 
EACH MEDICAL CENTER OF THE DEPART-
MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
may provide for the conduct by a nongovernmental hos-
pital organization of a best-practices peer review of each 
medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs to 
evaluate the efficacy of health care delivered at each such 
medical center. 
(b) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority for 
peer review conducted under subsection (a) to the medical 
centers of the Department with the longest wait times for 
an appointment or the worst health outcomes, as deter-
mined by the Secretary. 
Æ 
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