TITLE II—HEALTH CARE 
Subtitle A—Access to Care 
SEC. 201. AUTHORIZATION OF AGREEMENTS BETWEEN THE 
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND 
NON-DEPARTMENT 
HEALTH 
CARE 
PRO-
VIDERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 17 of title 
38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after sec-
tion 1703A the following new section: 
‘‘§ 1703B. Veterans Care Agreements 
‘‘(a) AGREEMENTS TO FURNISH CARE.—(1) If the 
Secretary is not feasibly able to furnish hospital care, med-
ical services, or extended care under this chapter at facili-
ties of the Department or under contracts or sharing 
agreements entered into under authorities other than this 
section, the Secretary may furnish such care and services 
by entering into agreements under this section with eligi-
ble providers that are certified under subsection (c). An 
agreement entered into under this section may be referred 
to as a ‘Veterans Care Agreement’. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary is not feasibly able to furnish care 
or services as described in paragraph (1) if the Secretary 
determines that the medical condition of the veteran, the 
travel involved, the nature of the care or services required, 
or a combination of those factors make the use of facilities 
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of the Department, contracts, or sharing agreements im-
practicable or inadvisable. 
‘‘(3) Eligibility of a veteran under this section for the 
care or services described in paragraph (1) shall be deter-
mined as if such care or services were furnished in a facil-
ity of the Department and provisions of this title applica-
ble to veterans receiving such care or services in a facility 
of the Department shall apply to veterans receiving such 
care or services under this section. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PROVIDERS.—For purposes of this 
section, an eligible provider is one of the following: 
‘‘(1) A provider of services that has enrolled 
and entered into a provider agreement under section 
1866(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395cc(a)). 
‘‘(2) A physician or supplier that has enrolled 
and entered into a participation agreement under 
section 1842(h) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395u(h)). 
‘‘(3) A provider of items and services receiving 
payment under a State plan under title XIX of such 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) or a waiver of such a 
plan. 
‘‘(4) A provider that is— 
‘‘(A) an Aging and Disability Resource 
Center, an area agency on aging, or a State 
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agency (as defined in section 102 of the Older 
Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002)); or 
‘‘(B) a center for independent living (as 
defined in section 702 of the Rehabilitation Act 
of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796a)). 
‘‘(5) Such other health care providers as the 
Secretary considers appropriate for purposes of this 
section. 
‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE PROVIDERS.—(1) 
The Secretary shall establish a process for the certification 
of eligible providers under this section that shall, at a min-
imum, set forth the following: 
‘‘(A) Procedures for the submittal of applica-
tions for certification and deadlines for actions taken 
by the Secretary with respect to such applications. 
‘‘(B) Standards and procedures for approval 
and denial of certification, duration of certification, 
revocation of certification, and recertification. 
‘‘(C) Procedures for assessing eligible providers 
based on the risk of fraud, waste, and abuse of such 
providers similar to the level of screening under sec-
tion 1866(j)(2)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395cc(j)(2)(B)) and the standards set forth 
under section 9.104 of title 48, Code of Federal 
Regulations, or any successor regulation. 
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‘‘(2) The Secretary shall deny or revoke certification 
to an eligible provider under this subsection if the Sec-
retary determines that the eligible provider is currently— 
‘‘(A) excluded from participation in a Federal 
health care program (as defined in section 1128B(f) 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7b(f))) 
under section 1128 or 1128A of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7 and 1320a–7a); or 
‘‘(B) identified as an excluded source on the list 
maintained in the System for Award Management, 
or any successor system. 
‘‘(d) TERMS OF AGREEMENTS.—Each agreement en-
tered into with an eligible provider under this section shall 
include provisions requiring the eligible provider to do the 
following: 
‘‘(1) To accept payment for care and services 
furnished under this section at rates established by 
the Secretary for purposes of this section, which 
shall be, to the extent practicable, the rates paid by 
the United States for such care and services to pro-
viders of services and suppliers under the Medicare 
program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.). 
‘‘(2) To accept payment under paragraph (1) as 
payment in full for care and services furnished 
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under this section and to not seek any payment for 
such care and services from the recipient of such 
care and services. 
‘‘(3) To furnish under this section only the care 
and services authorized by the Department under 
this section unless the eligible provider receives prior 
written consent from the Department to furnish care 
or services outside the scope of such authorization. 
‘‘(4) To bill the Department for care and serv-
ices furnished under this section in accordance with 
a methodology established by the Secretary for pur-
poses of this section. 
‘‘(5) Not to seek to recover or collect from a 
health-plan contract or third party, as those terms 
are defined in section 1729 of this title, for any care 
or services for which payment is made by the De-
partment under this section. 
‘‘(6) To provide medical records for veterans 
furnished care or services under this section to the 
Department in a timeframe and format specified by 
the Secretary for purposes of this section. 
‘‘(7) To meet such other terms and conditions, 
including quality of care assurance standards, as the 
Secretary may specify for purposes of this section. 
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‘‘(e) TERMINATION OF AGREEMENTS.—(1) An eligi-
ble provider may terminate an agreement with the Sec-
retary under this section at such time and upon such no-
tice to the Secretary as the Secretary may specify for pur-
poses of this section. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary may terminate an agreement with 
an eligible provider under this section at such time and 
upon such notice to the eligible provider as the Secretary 
may specify for purposes of this section, if the Secretary— 
‘‘(A) determines that the eligible provider failed 
to comply substantially with the provisions of the 
agreement or with the provisions of this section and 
the regulations prescribed thereunder; 
‘‘(B) determines that the eligible provider is— 
‘‘(i) excluded from participation in a Fed-
eral health care program (as defined in section 
1128B(f) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1320a–7b(f))) under section 1128 or 1128A of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7 
and 1320a–7a); or 
‘‘(ii) identified as an excluded source on 
the list maintained in the System for Award 
Management, or any successor system; 
‘‘(C) ascertains that the eligible provider has 
been convicted of a felony or other serious offense 
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