I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5671 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure appropriate payment for 
the cost of long term care provided to veterans in State veterans homes, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 22, 2006 
Mr. BRADLEY of New Hampshire (for himself, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. MORAN of 
Kansas, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Mr. SIMMONS, and Mr. GARRETT 
of New Jersey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure appropriate 
payment for the cost of long term care provided to vet-
erans in State veterans homes, 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 Long Term 
Care Security Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. INCREASE IN PAYMENT RATES FOR NURSING HOME 
CARE PROVIDED IN STATE HOMES TO VET-
ERANS WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABIL-
ITIES. 
(a) 
COMMUNITY-BASED
FACILITY
RATE.—Sub-
chapter V of chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 1744. Payment for care provided to veterans with 
service-connected disabilities 
‘‘(a) NURSING HOME CARE.—(1) The Secretary shall 
pay each State home for nursing home care provided (A) 
to any veteran in need of such care for a service-connected 
disability, and (B) to any veteran who is in need of such 
care and who has a service-connected disability rated at 
70 percent or more, at the applicable rate payable under 
section 1720 of this title for such care furnished in a non- 
Department nursing home (as defined in subsection (e)(2) 
of such section). 
‘‘(2) Payment by the Secretary under paragraph (1) 
to a State home for nursing home care provided to a vet-
eran described in that paragraph constitutes payment in 
full under this title to the State home for such care fur-
nished to that veteran.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING
AMENDMENTS.—(1) Subsection 
(a)(1) of section 1741 of such title is amended by striking 
‘‘The’’ in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) and in-
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serting ‘‘Except as provided in section 1744 of this title, 
the’’. 
(2) Subsection (a)(4) of section 1710 of such title is 
amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘the requirement 
in section 1710B of this title’’; and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘, and the requirement in sec-
tion 1744 of this title to provide nursing home care 
and prescription medicines to veterans with service- 
connected disabilities in State homes’’ after ‘‘a pro-
gram of extended care services’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 1743 the following new 
item: 
‘‘1744. Payment for care provided to veterans with service-connected disabil-
ities.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on October 1, 2006, and apply 
to care furnished in State homes on or after such date. 
SEC. 3. PROVISION OF PRESCRIPTION MEDICINES FOR 
VETERANS WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED DIS-
ABILITIES 
RECEIVING 
CARE 
IN 
STATE 
HOMES. 
(a) REQUIREMENT
TO
FURNISH
PRESCRIPTION 
MEDICINES.—Section 1744 of title 38, United States 
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Code, as added by section 2, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(b) PRESCRIPTION
MEDICINES.—The Secretary 
shall furnish such drugs and medicines as may be ordered 
on prescription of a duly licensed physician as specific 
therapy in the treatment of illness or injury of a veteran 
who is provided nursing home care that is payable under 
subsection (a) in the case of a veteran— 
‘‘(1) who is in need of such drugs and medi-
cines for a service-connected disability; or 
‘‘(2) who is in need of such drugs and medi-
cines and who has a service-connected disability 
rated at 50 percent or more.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 2006. 
SEC. 4. TEMPORARY AUTHORITY TO TREAT CERTAIN 
HEALTH FACILITIES AS STATE HOMES. 
(a) AUTHORITY.—Subchapter III of chapter 81 of 
title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 8138. Treatment of certain health facilities as State 
homes 
‘‘(a) Subject to subsections (b) through (f), the Sec-
retary may treat a health facility as a State home for pur-
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poses of subchapter V of chapter 17 of this title if the 
facility meets the following requirements: 
‘‘(1) The facility meets the standards for the 
provision of nursing home care that is applicable to 
State homes, as prescribed by the Secretary under 
section 8134(b) of this title, and such other stand-
ards relating to the facility as the Secretary may re-
quire. 
‘‘(2) The facility is licensed or certified by the 
appropriate State and local agencies charged with 
the responsibility of licensing or otherwise regulating 
or inspecting such facilities. 
‘‘(3) The State demonstrates in an application 
to the Secretary that, but for the treatment of a fa-
cility as a State home under this subsection, a sub-
stantial number of veterans residing in the geo-
graphic area in which the facility is located who re-
quire nursing home care will not have access to such 
care. 
‘‘(4) The Secretary has made a determination 
that the treatment of the facility as a State home 
best meets the needs of veterans in the area for 
nursing home care. 
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‘‘(5) The Secretary approves the application 
submitted by the State with respect to the health fa-
cility. 
‘‘(b) The Secretary may not treat a health facility as 
a State home under subsection (a) if the Secretary deter-
mines that such treatment would increase the number of 
beds allocated to the State in excess of the limit on the 
number of beds provided for under regulations prescribed 
under section 8134(a) of this title. 
‘‘(c) The number of beds occupied by veterans in a 
health facility for which payment may be made under sub-
chapter V of chapter 17 of this title by reason of sub-
section (a) shall not exceed the number of veterans in beds 
in State homes that otherwise would be permitted in the 
State involved under regulations prescribed under section 
8134(a) of this title. 
‘‘(d) The number of beds in a health facility in a 
State that has been treated as a State home under sub-
section (a) shall be taken into account in determining the 
unmet need for beds for State homes for the State under 
section 8134(d)(1) of this title. 
‘‘(e) In no case may the aggregate number of beds 
in all facilities treated as State homes under subsection 
(a) exceed 100. 
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