Title: eVETS Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Enhancing Veterans' Experience with Telehealth Services Act or the eVETS Act
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a demonstration program to expand telemedicine services for veterans who are enrolled as patients in the VA, live in rural areas, and have certain mental health disorders. The VA must inform these veterans of the opportunity to participate in such program and provide them with information on how they can participate.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7017 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7017

      To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a 
   demonstration program to expand the availability of telemedicine 
services for veterans living in rural areas with certain mental health 
                   disorders, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 2, 2018

 Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire (for herself, Mr. Poliquin, Mr. Mooney of 
 West Virginia, Mr. Gianforte, Mr. Westerman, Ms. Shea-Porter, and Mr. 
    Welch) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a 
   demonstration program to expand the availability of telemedicine 
services for veterans living in rural areas with certain mental health 
                   disorders, 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 ``Enhancing Veterans' Experience with 
Telehealth Services Act'' or the ``eVETS Act''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM ON 
              EXPANDED AVAILABILITY OF TELEMEDICINE SERVICES FOR 
              CERTAIN VETERANS IN RURAL AREAS.

    (a) Demonstration Program.--Beginning not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall carry out a demonstration program to expand telemedicine 
services for eligible veterans. Under the pilot program, all eligible 
veterans who opt to participate in the program may choose to receive 
cognitive therapy or prolonged exposure therapy; which shall be 
delivered remotely via video calling technology through no less than 12 
episodes of care per veteran or a greater number of episodes, as 
determined by the veteran's provider.
    (b) Instructions for Providers.--The Secretary shall create and 
distribute to Network Directors of Veterans Integrated Services 
Networks, Medical Center Directors and Medical Providers who may 
encounter eligible veterans instructions describing the program and the 
responsibilities of each Department medical facility in furnishing care 
to eligible veterans under the program. Such instructions shall--
            (1) clearly define the responsibilities of the senior 
        executives of Department medical facilities participating in 
        the demonstration program;
            (2) clearly define responsibilities of each Department 
        medical provider at Department medical centers participating in 
        the demonstration program whose duties entail providing mental 
        health care to eligible veterans;
            (3) provide required training and education on mental 
        health treatments that have substantial evidence supporting 
        their use in telemedicine for each provider and veteran 
        participating in the demonstration program;
            (4) define eligible models of care coordination Department 
        medical facilities and participating providers may use to 
        furnish telemedicine services under the demonstration program, 
        including recommendations for selecting a model of care 
        coordination; and
            (5) clearly define oversight and accountability 
        requirements for senior executives of the Department who are 
        responsible for overseeing the program, including the Veterans 
        Health Administration, the National Center for PTSD, and any 
        other relevant office.
    (c) Outreach to Eligible Veterans.--Department of Veterans Affairs 
medical providers and medical facilities participating in the 
demonstration program shall inform eligible veterans of the opportunity 
to participate in the demonstration program and provide such veterans 
with information on how to participate in such program.
    (d) Study of the Program.--For the duration of the demonstration 
program, the Secretary shall collect and record data regarding the 
health of veterans who receive medical care under the program, 
including events, treatments, satisfaction survey results, dropout 
rates, and outcomes, and make such data available for analysis by 
qualified independent researchers.
    (e) Duration.--Not later than three years and not sooner than two 
years after the date of enactment of this act, the Secretary shall 
decide whether to continue, expand or discontinue the demonstration 
program and report that decision to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs 
of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
    (f) Assessment of the Program.--Not later than two years 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 an assessment of the demonstration program, which shall 
include--
            (1) an analysis of the program prepared by qualified 
        independent researchers;
            (2) the number of veterans who participated in the program, 
        broken down by State of residence and primary Department 
        medical center;
            (3) the average and median number of telemedicine episodes 
        of care per veteran; and
            (4) the recommendations of the Secretary regarding whether 
        the program should be extended or expanded.
    (g) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``qualifying rural areas'' means an area 
        that--
                    (A) is within one of--
                            (i) the six States participating in the 
                        Telemedicine Outreach for PTSD pilot program, 
                        as of the date of the enactment of this Act, 
                        South Carolina, Iowa, Arkansas, Denver, 
                        Colorado, California, and Washington; and
                            (ii) the 10 States identified as having the 
                        highest concentrations of veterans living in 
                        rural areas by the 2017 report of the Census 
                        Bureau's American Community Survey entitled, 
                        ``Veterans in Rural America: 2011-2015''; and
                    (B) qualifies as ``rural'' under the definition of 
                ``rural'' provided in the 2016 Census Bureau document 
                entitled ``Defining Rural at the U.S. Census Bureau'' 
                or qualifies as ``highly rural'' under the meaning in 
                Public Law 113-146.
            (2) The term ``eligible veteran'' means a veteran who--
                    (A) has been diagnosed with--
                            (i) post-traumatic stress disorder; or
                            (ii) a mental health disorder designated by 
                        the Secretary for purposes of the demonstration 
                        program under this section and published in the 
                        Federal Register;
                    (B) is enrolled in the patient enrollment system of 
                the Department of Veterans Affairs under section 1705 
                of title 38, United States Code; and
                    (C) resides within a qualifying rural area.

SEC. 3. IMPROVEMENT OF ACCESS TO BROADBAND INTERNET FOR RURAL VETERANS 
              PARTICIPATING IN DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.

    (a) Expansion of Access to Broadband Internet.--
            (1) Partnership agreements.--The Secretary may--
                    (A) seek to enter into partnership agreements with 
                covered private entities to expand access to broadband 
                internet, including the expansion of white space 
                technology, for eligible veterans who participate in 
                the demonstration program under section 2;
                    (B) enter into partnership agreements, when 
                appropriate, with the Secretary of Agriculture, the 
                Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and 
                the heads of other appropriate Federal entities to 
                assist covered private entities with which the 
                Secretary has entered into a partnership agreement 
                under subparagraph (A) in the delivery of broadband 
                internet to qualifying rural areas, as such term is 
                defined in section 2(h)(1); and
                    (C) provide assistance to private entities in the 
                delivery of broadband internet to such eligible 
                veterans by working with other private entities, 
                including congressionally chartered veteran service 
                organizations, to provide necessary infrastructure and 
                other services needed in the delivery of white space 
                technology.
            (2) Cost subsidies.--The Secretary may pay, to an eligible 
        veteran participating in the demonstration program under 
        section 3, an amount equal to the cost of obtaining internet 
        access for the duration of the veteran's participation, if--
                    (A) the Secretary determines the eligible veteran 
                has financial need, as determined by the Secretary;
                    (B) such veteran meets eligibility requirements for 
                the demonstration program for the duration of the 
                veteran's participation in the program; and
                    (C) the veteran has a service-connected disability 
                rated at 50 percent or higher.
            (3) Information sharing.--
                    (A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the 
                Secretary may share information about the location of 
                eligible veterans participating in the demonstration 
                program under section 2 with covered private entities 
                with which the Secretary enters into a partnership 
                agreement under paragraph (1) to aid in the delivery of 
                broadband internet access to such veterans.
                    (B) Privacy.--The Secretary shall ensure that data 
                and information disclosed to covered private entities 
                conceals the identity of individual veterans. Prior to 
                the disclosure of any data or information to a private 
                entity pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Secretary 
                shall enter into an agreement with the covered private 
                entity that prohibits the entity from disclosing the 
                data or information to any third party or using such 
                data or information for any purpose other than 
                providing broadband access to eligible veterans 
                participating in the demonstration program.
            (4) Covered private entity.--In this subsection, the term 
        ``covered private entity'' means a technology company or 
        internet service provider that is working to expand internet 
        access, including through white space technology.
    (b) Provision of Private Spaces.--
            (1) Partnership agreement authority.--The Secretary may 
        seek to enter into a partnership agreement with private 
        entities for the provision of private spaces described in 
        paragraph (3) with broadband internet access for use by 
        eligible veterans participating in the demonstration program 
        under section 2.
            (2) Preference.--In entering into partnership agreements 
        under paragraph (1), the Secretary may give preference to 
        entities with support services on location including, certified 
        community behavioral health clinics, federally qualified health 
        centers, and congressionally chartered veteran service 
        organizations.
            (3) Private spaces.--Private spaces described in this 
        paragraph are private spaces--
                    (A) located in qualifying rural areas as defined in 
                section 2(g)(1); and
                    (B) furnished, or suitable to be furnished, with 
                electronic devices needed for the delivery of 
                telemedicine services to veterans under the 
                demonstration program.
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