I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 241 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish standards of access 
to care for veterans seeking health care from Department of Veterans 
Affairs medical facilities, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 14, 2013 
Mr. ROSS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish 
standards of access to care for veterans seeking health 
care from Department of Veterans Affairs medical facili-
ties, 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 Timely Ac-
cess to Health Care Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ACCESS TO 
MEDICAL CARE. 
(a) STANDARD FOR ACCESS TO CARE.—Section 1706 
of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(d)(1) In managing the provision of hospital care 
and medical services under section 1710(a) of this title, 
the Secretary shall ensure that for each veteran seeking 
such care or services from a Department medical facility, 
the standard for access to care, determined from the date 
on which the veteran contacts the Department seeking an 
appointment until the date on which a visit with an appro-
priate health care provider is completed, is 30 days. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall periodically review the per-
formance of Department medical facilities compared to the 
standard established under paragraph (1). The Secretary 
shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of 
the Senate and House of Representatives a semi-annual 
report providing an assessment of the Department’s per-
formance in meeting that standard. 
‘‘(3)(A) Not later than 60 days after the end of a 
calendar-year quarter, the Secretary shall submit to the 
Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House 
of Representatives a report for that calendar-year quarter 
on the experience of the Department during the quarter 
covered by the report with respect to waiting times for 
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veterans seeking appointments at Department medical fa-
cilities. 
‘‘(B) Each report under subparagraph (A) shall in-
clude each of the following: 
‘‘(i) The total number of veterans waiting by 
the following categories: 
‘‘(I) Those waiting under 30 days for 
scheduled appointments. 
‘‘(II) Those waiting over 30 days but less 
than 60 days. 
‘‘(III) Those waiting over 60 days but less 
than 4 months. 
‘‘(IV) Those waiting over 4 months but 
who cannot be scheduled within 6 months. 
‘‘(V) Any remaining veterans who cannot 
be scheduled, with the reasons therefor. 
‘‘(ii) For each category set forth in subpara-
graph (A), distinctions between— 
‘‘(I) waiting times for primary care and 
specialty care; and 
‘‘(II) waiting times for veterans who are 
newly enrolled versus those who were enrolled 
before October 1, 2001. 
‘‘(iii) The number of veterans who have enrolled 
in the patient enrollment system under section 1705 
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of this title but have not since such enrollment 
sought care at a Department medical facility.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (d) of section 
1706 of title 38, United States Code, shall apply with re-
spect to hospital care and medical services provided on or 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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