Modernizing Department of Veterans Affairs Disability Benefit Questionnaires Act
Bill: H.R.7188 | Sponsor: Rep. Nehls, Troy E. (R-TX)
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Modernizing Department of Veterans Affairs Disability Benefit Questionnaires Act
This bill requires that all disability benefit questionnaire data collected by persons other than employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in the course of VA medical disability examinations must be transmitted to the VA in a machine-readable format.

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make certain 
   improvements relating to the transmission of disability benefits 
questionnaire data to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Modernizing Department of Veterans 
Affairs Disability Benefit Questionnaires Act''.

SEC. 2. MODERNIZATION OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS DISABILITY 
              BENEFIT QUESTIONNAIRES.

    (a) Requirement for Transmission of Certain Information in Machine-
Readable Format.--
            (1) Requirement.--Not later than 180 days after enactment 
        of this Act, the Secretary shall require all disability benefit 
        questionnaire data collected in the course of medical 
        disability examinations made by persons other than employees of 
        the Department of Veterans Affairs under section 305 of the 
        Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-275; 
        38 U.S.C. 5101 note) to be transmitted to the Department in a 
        machine-readable format.
            (2) Issuance of standards.--Not later than 90 days after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
        Veterans Affairs shall issue standards for the transmission of 
        disability benefit questionnaire data in a machine-readable 
        format as required under paragraph (1).
    (b) Plan for Information Technology System Modification.--Not later 
than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the 
Senate and House of Representatives a plan to modify the information 
technology systems and processes of the Department to enable a non-
Department health care professional selected by a claimant to transmit 
to the Department, in a machine-readable format, disability benefit 
questionnaire data, including complete disability benefit 
questionnaires rather than partial questionnaires or individual 
elements of medical evidence.
    (c) Public Availability of Information.--The Secretary shall make 
publicly available on the internet website of the Department referred 
to in section 5101(d) of title 38, United States Code--
            (1) a description of the standards issued under subsection 
        (a)(2); and
            (2) the plan required under subsection (b).
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``claimant'' has the meaning given such term 
        in section 5100 of title 38, United States Code.
            (2) The term ``machine-readable'' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 3502(18) of title 44, United States Code.
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