I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7879 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a grant program 
to expand and improve the provision of telehealth services to veterans. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 30, 2020 
Mrs. LEE of Nevada (for herself, Mr. BANKS, Mr. STEIL, and Ms. TORRES 
SMALL of New Mexico) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a 
grant program to expand and improve the provision of 
telehealth services to veterans. 
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 ‘‘VA Telehealth Expan-
sion Act’’. 
SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM TO EXPAND TELEHEALTH FROM 
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall enter into partnerships, and expand existing partner-
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ships, with entities that represent or serve veterans, non-
profit organizations, private businesses, and other inter-
ested parties for the expansion of telehealth capabilities 
and the provision of telehealth services to veterans 
through the award of grants under subsection (c). Such 
telehealth services shall be provided by health care pro-
viders of the Department of Veterans Affairs or through 
the Veterans Community Care Program under section 
1703 of title 38, United States Code. 
(b) PREFERENCE.—When selecting entities with 
which to enter into or to expand a partnership under sub-
section (a), the Secretary shall give preference to entities 
that— 
(1) represent veterans in rural or highly rural 
areas (as determined through the use of the Rural- 
Urban Commuting Areas coding system of the De-
partment of Agriculture); or 
(2) operate in a medically underserved commu-
nity (as defined in section 799B of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 295p)). 
(c) AWARD OF GRANTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out partnerships 
entered into or expanded under this section with en-
tities described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
award grants to those entities. 
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(2) MAXIMUM
AMOUNT
OF
GRANTS.—The 
amount of a grant awarded under this subsection 
may not exceed $75,000 in one year. 
(3) USE OF GRANTS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Grants awarded to an 
entity under this subsection may be used for 
one or more of the following: 
(i) Purchasing or upgrading hardware 
or software necessary for the provision of 
secure and private telehealth services. 
(ii) Upgrading security protocols for 
consistency with the security requirements 
of the Department. 
(iii) Training of employees, including 
payment of those employees for completing 
that training, with respect to— 
(I) military and veteran cultural 
competence, if the entity is not an or-
ganization that represents veterans; 
(II) appropriate processes for 
handling emergencies that occur dur-
ing telehealth; 
(III) equipment required to pro-
vide telehealth services; or 
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(IV) any other unique training 
needs for the provision of telehealth 
services to veterans. 
(iv) Upgrading existing infrastructure 
owned or leased by the entity to make 
rooms more conducive to telehealth care, 
including— 
(I) additions or modifications to 
windows or walls in an existing room, 
or other alterations as needed to cre-
ate a new, private room; 
(II) soundproofing of an existing 
room; 
(III) new electrical or internet 
outlets in an existing room; or 
(IV) aesthetic or other enhance-
ments to establish a more suitable 
therapeutic environment. 
(v) Upgrading existing infrastructure 
to comply with the Americans with Disabil-
ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et 
seq.). 
(vi) Upgrading infrastructure or inter-
net services. 
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(B) EXCLUSION.—Grants may not be used 
for the purchase of new property or for major 
construction projects, as determined by the Sec-
retary. 
(d) 
AGREEMENT
ON
TELEHEALTH
ACCESS 
POINTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—An entity described in sub-
section (a) that seeks to establish a telehealth access 
point for veterans but does not require grant fund-
ing under this section to do so may enter into an 
agreement with the Department for the establish-
ment of such an access point. 
(2) INSPECTION TO DETERMINE ADEQUACY OF 
FACILITIES.—The Secretary shall inspect any such 
access point to determine whether the access point 
is private, secure, and accessible to veterans. 
(e) ASSESSMENT OF BARRIERS TO ACCESS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall complete an assessment of barriers faced 
by veterans in accessing telehealth services. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The assessment required by 
paragraph (1) shall include the following: 
(A) An assessment of current and potential 
future barriers, including— 
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(i) cost; 
(ii) access to broadband internet in-
frastructure and technology; 
(iii) digital competency; and 
(iv) discrimination (including cultural, 
language, or medical discrimination). 
(B) A description of how the Secretary 
plans to address the barriers described in sub-
paragraph (A). 
(C) Such other matters related access by 
veterans to telehealth while not on property of 
the Department the Secretary determines rel-
evant. 
(3) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after 
the completion of the assessment required by para-
graph (1), the Secretary 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 assessment, includ-
ing any recommendations for legislative or adminis-
trative action based on the results of the assessment. 
Æ 
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