I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 84 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish standards of access 
to care for veterans seeking health care from the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 6, 2009 
Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish stand-
ards of access to care for veterans seeking health care 
from the Department of Veterans Affairs, 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’’. 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:07 Jan 09, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H84.IH
H84
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
SEC. 2. STANDARDS FOR ACCESS TO CARE. 
(a) REQUIRED STANDARDS FOR ACCESS TO CARE.— 
Section 1703 of title 38, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(e)(1) For a veteran seeking primary care from the 
Department, the standard for access to care, determined 
from the date on which the veteran contacts the Depart-
ment seeking an appointment until the date on which a 
visit with a primary-care provider is completed, is 30 days. 
‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary shall prescribe an appropriate 
standard for access to care applicable to waiting times at 
Department health-care facilities, determined from the 
time at which a veteran’s visit is scheduled until the time 
at which the veteran is seen by the provider with whom 
the visit is scheduled. 
‘‘(B) The Secretary shall periodically review the per-
formance of Department health-care facilities compared to 
the standard prescribed under subparagraph (A). The Sec-
retary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs 
of the Senate and House of Representatives an annual re-
port providing an assessment of the Department’s per-
formance in meeting that standard. 
‘‘(3) Effective on the first day of the first fiscal year 
beginning after the date of the enactment of this section, 
but subject to paragraph (4), in a case in which the Sec-
retary is unable to meet the standard for access to care 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:07 Jan 09, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H84.IH
H84
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
applicable under paragraph (1) or (2), the Secretary shall, 
or with respect to a veteran described in section 
1705(a)(8) of this title may, use the authority of sub-
section (a) to furnish health care and services for that vet-
eran in a non-Department facility. In any such case— 
‘‘(A) payments by the Secretary may not exceed 
the reimbursement rate for similar outpatient serv-
ices paid by the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services under part B of the medicare program (as 
defined in section 1781(d)(4)(A) of this title); and 
‘‘(B) the non-Department facility may not bill 
the veteran for any difference between the facility’s 
billed charges and the amount paid by the Secretary 
under subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(4) Paragraph (3) shall not apply to a veteran en-
rolled or seeking care at a Department facility within a 
Department geographic service area that has a compliance 
rate, determined over the first quarter of the first cal-
endar-year beginning after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, for the standards for access to care under para-
graphs (1) and (2) of 90 percent or more. The Secretary 
shall make the determination of the compliance rate for 
each Department geographic service area for purposes of 
the preceding sentence not later than July 1 of the first 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:07 Jan 09, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H84.IH
H84
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
‘‘(vii) Any remaining veterans who cannot be 
scheduled, with the reasons therefor. 
‘‘(C) For each category set forth in subparagraph 
(B), the report shall distinguish between— 
‘‘(i) waiting times for primary care and spe-
cialty care; and 
‘‘(ii) waiting times for veterans who are newly 
enrolled versus those who were enrolled before Octo-
ber 1, 2001. 
‘‘(D) Each such report shall also set forth the number 
of veterans who have enrolled in the Department’s health 
care system but have not since such enrollment sought 
care at a Department health care facility. 
‘‘(E) The final report under this paragraph shall be 
for the quarter ending on December 31, 2010.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (e) of section 
1703 of title 38, United States Code, as added by sub-
section (a), shall take effect on the first day of the first 
month beginning more than six months after the date of 
the enactment of this Act. The first report under para-
graph (5) of that subsection shall be submitted for the 
quarter ending on December 31 of the first calendar year 
beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:07 Jan 09, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H84.IH
H84
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS