H. R. 1627—8 
‘‘(5) Clear, consistent, and comprehensive criteria and guid-
ance with respect to an employee of the Department commu-
nicating and reporting sexual assault incidents and other safety 
incidents to— 
‘‘(A) supervisory personnel of the employee at— 
‘‘(i) a medical facility of the Department; 
‘‘(ii) an office of a Veterans Integrated Service Net-
work; and 
‘‘(iii) the central office of the Veterans Health 
Administration; and 
‘‘(B) a law enforcement official of the Department. 
‘‘(6) Clear and consistent criteria and guidelines with 
respect to an employee of the Department referring and 
reporting to the Office of Inspector General of the Department 
sexual assault incidents and other safety incidents that meet 
the regulatory criminal threshold prescribed under sections 
901 and 902 of this title. 
‘‘(7) An accountable oversight system within the Veterans 
Health Administration that includes— 
‘‘(A) systematic information sharing of reported sexual 
assault incidents and other safety incidents among officials 
of the Administration who have programmatic responsi-
bility; and 
‘‘(B) a centralized reporting, tracking, and monitoring 
system for such incidents. 
‘‘(8) Consistent procedures and systems for law enforcement 
officials of the Department with respect to investigating, 
tracking, and closing reported sexual assault incidents and 
other safety incidents. 
‘‘(9) Clear and consistent guidance for the clinical manage-
ment of the treatment of sexual assaults that are reported 
more than 72 hours after the assault. 
‘‘(c) UPDATES TO POLICY.—The Secretary shall review and revise 
the policy required by subsection (a) on a periodic basis as the 
Secretary considers appropriate and in accordance with best prac-
tices. 
‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORT.—(1) Not later than 60 days after the 
date on which the Secretary develops the policy required by sub-
section (a) and not later than October 1 of each year thereafter, 
the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 
of Representatives a report on the implementation of the policy. 
‘‘(2) The report required by paragraph (1) shall include— 
‘‘(A) the number and type of sexual assault incidents and 
other safety incidents reported by each medical facility of the 
Department; 
‘‘(B) a detailed description of the implementation of the 
policy required by subsection (a), including any revisions made 
to such policy from the previous year; and 
‘‘(C) the effectiveness of such policy on improving the safety 
and security of the medical facilities of the Department, 
including the performance measures used to evaluate such 
effectiveness.’’.
H. R. 1627—9 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at the begin-
ning of such chapter is amended by adding after the item relating 
to section 1708 the following new item: 
‘‘1709. Comprehensive policy on reporting and tracking sexual assault incidents and 
other safety incidents.’’. 
(c) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate 
and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa-
tives a report on the development of the policy required by section 
1709 of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a). 
SEC. 107. REHABILITATIVE SERVICES FOR VETERANS WITH TRAU-
MATIC BRAIN INJURY. 
(a) REHABILITATION PLANS AND SERVICES.—Section 1710C is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting before the semicolon 
the following: ‘‘with the goal of maximizing the individual’s 
independence’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘(and sustaining improvement in)’’ 
after ‘‘improving’’; 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘behavioral,’’ after ‘‘cognitive,’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘rehabilitative serv-
ices and’’ before ‘‘rehabilitative components’’; and 
(C) in paragraph (3)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘treatments’’ the first place it 
appears and inserting ‘‘services’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘treatments and’’ the second place 
it appears; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(h) REHABILITATIVE SERVICES DEFINED.—For purposes of this 
section, and sections 1710D and 1710E of this title, the term 
‘rehabilitative services’ includes— 
‘‘(1) rehabilitative services, as defined in section 1701 of 
this title; 
‘‘(2) treatment and services (which may be of ongoing dura-
tion) to sustain, and prevent loss of, functional gains that 
have been achieved; and 
‘‘(3) any other rehabilitative services or supports that may 
contribute to maximizing an individual’s independence.’’. 
(b) REHABILITATION SERVICES IN COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM FOR 
LONG-TERM REHABILITATION.—Section 1710D(a) is amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘and rehabilitative services (as defined 
in section 1710C of this title)’’ after ‘‘long-term care’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘treatment’’. 
(c) REHABILITATION SERVICES IN AUTHORITY FOR COOPERATIVE 
AGREEMENTS
FOR
USE
OF
NON-DEPARTMENT
FACILITIES
FOR 
REHABILITATION.—Section 1710E(a) is amended by inserting ‘‘, 
including rehabilitative services (as defined in section 1710C of 
this title),’’ after ‘‘medical services’’. 
(d) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 1710C(c)(2)(S) of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘opthamologist’’ and 
inserting ‘‘ophthalmologist’’.
H. R. 1627—10 
SEC. 108. TELECONSULTATION AND TELEMEDICINE. 
(a) TELECONSULTATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 17, as amended 
by section 106(a), is further amended by adding at the end 
the following new section: 
‘‘§ 1709A. Teleconsultation 
‘‘(a) TELECONSULTATION.—(1) The Secretary shall carry out an 
initiative of teleconsultation for the provision of remote mental 
health and traumatic brain injury assessments in facilities of the 
Department that are not otherwise able to provide such assessments 
without contracting with third-party providers or reimbursing pro-
viders through a fee basis system. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall, in consultation with appropriate 
professional societies, promulgate technical and clinical care stand-
ards for the use of teleconsultation services within facilities of 
the Department. 
‘‘(3) In carrying out an initiative under paragraph (1), the 
Secretary shall ensure that facilities of the Department are able 
to provide a mental health or traumatic brain injury assessment 
to a veteran through contracting with a third-party provider or 
reimbursing a provider through a fee basis system when— 
‘‘(A) such facilities are not able to provide such assessment 
to the veteran without— 
‘‘(i) such contracting or reimbursement; or 
‘‘(ii) teleconsultation; and 
‘‘(B) providing such assessment with such contracting or 
reimbursement is more clinically appropriate for the veteran 
than providing such assessment with teleconsultation. 
‘‘(b) TELECONSULTATION DEFINED.—In this section, the term 
‘teleconsultation’ means the use by a health care specialist of tele-
communications to assist another health care provider in rendering 
a diagnosis or treatment.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at the 
beginning of chapter 17 is amended by inserting after the 
item relating to section 1709, as added by section 106(b), the 
following new item: 
‘‘1709A. Teleconsultation.’’. 
(b) TRAINING IN TELEMEDICINE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall, 
to the extent feasible, offer medical residents opportunities 
in training in telemedicine for medical residency programs. 
The Secretary shall consult with the Accreditation Council for 
Graduate Medical Education and with universities with which 
facilities of the Department have a major affiliation to deter-
mine the feasibility and advisability of making telehealth a 
mandatory component of medical residency programs. 
(2) TELEMEDICINE DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term 
‘‘telemedicine’’ means the use by a health care provider of 
telecommunications to assist in the diagnosis or treatment of 
a patient’s medical condition. 
SEC. 109. USE OF SERVICE DOGS ON PROPERTY OF THE DEPARTMENT 
OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
Section 901 is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection:
H. R. 1627—11 
‘‘(f)(1) The Secretary may not prohibit the use of a covered 
service dog in any facility or on any property of the Department 
or in any facility or on any property that receives funding from 
the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, a covered service dog 
is a service dog that has been trained by an entity that is accredited 
by an appropriate accrediting body that evaluates and accredits 
organizations which train guide or service dogs.’’. 
SEC. 110. RECOGNITION OF RURAL HEALTH RESOURCE CENTERS IN 
OFFICE OF RURAL HEALTH. 
Section 7308 is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection: 
‘‘(d) RURAL HEALTH RESOURCE CENTERS.—(1) There are, in 
the Office, veterans rural health resource centers that serve as 
satellite offices for the Office. 
‘‘(2) The veterans rural health resource centers have purposes 
as follows: 
‘‘(A) To improve the understanding of the Office of the 
challenges faced by veterans living in rural areas. 
‘‘(B) To identify disparities in the availability of health 
care to veterans living in rural areas. 
‘‘(C) To formulate practices or programs to enhance the 
delivery of health care to veterans living in rural areas. 
‘‘(D) To develop special practices and products for the ben-
efit of veterans living in rural areas and for implementation 
of such practices and products in the Department systemwide.’’. 
SEC. 111. IMPROVEMENTS FOR RECOVERY AND COLLECTION OF 
AMOUNTS FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MED-
ICAL CARE COLLECTIONS FUND. 
(a) 
DEVELOPMENT
AND
IMPLEMENTATION
OF
PLAN
FOR 
RECOVERY AND COLLECTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall develop and implement a plan to ensure the recovery 
and collection of amounts under the provisions of law described 
in section 1729A(b) of title 38, United States Code, for deposit 
in the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Care Collections 
Fund. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The plan required by paragraph (1) shall 
include the following: 
(A) An effective process to identify billable fee claims. 
(B) Effective and practicable policies and procedures 
that ensure recovery and collection of amounts described 
in section 1729A(b) of such title. 
(C) The training of employees of the Department, on 
or before September 30, 2013, who are responsible for 
the recovery or collection of such amounts to enable such 
employees to comply with the process required by subpara-
graph (A) and the policies and procedures required by 
subparagraph (B). 
(D) Fee revenue goals for the Department. 
(E) An effective monitoring system to ensure achieve-
ment of goals described in subparagraph (D) and compli-
ance with the policies and procedures described in subpara-
graph (B).