Title: A bill to amend the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to modify the termination date for the Veterans Choice Program, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
This bill amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to eliminate the August 7, 2017, sunset date for the Veterans Choice Program, thus allowing the program to operate until all of the money in the Veterans Choice Fund is expended.
The bill makes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) the primary payer (currently the VA is the secondary payer) for medical care relating to non-service connected disabilities and recovery of costs from third parties for certain care under the program.
The VA may share medical information with a non-VA entity (including private entities and other federal agencies) that provides veterans with authorized hospital care or medical services. Such entity may not redisclose or use such information for a purpose other than that for which the disclosure was made.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 544 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 544

To amend the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to 
 modify the termination date for the Veterans Choice Program, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 7, 2017

   Mr. Tester (for himself, Mr. McCain, Mr. Moran, Mr. Isakson, Mr. 
Blumenthal, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Boozman, Ms. Heitkamp, and Mr. 
    Rounds) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to 
 modify the termination date for the Veterans Choice Program, 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. MODIFICATION OF TERMINATION DATE FOR VETERANS CHOICE 
              PROGRAM.

    Section 101(p)(2) of the Veterans Access, Choice, and 
Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-146; 38 U.S.C. 1701 note) is 
amended by striking ``, or the date that is 3 years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, whichever occurs first''.

SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF REQUIREMENT TO ACT AS SECONDARY PAYER FOR CARE 
              RELATING TO NON-SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITIES AND 
              RECOVERY OF COSTS FOR CERTAIN CARE UNDER CHOICE PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 101(e) of the Veterans Access, Choice, and 
Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-146; 38 U.S.C. 1701 note) is 
amended--
            (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ``Other Health-
        care Plan'' and inserting ``Responsibility for Costs of Certain 
        Care'';
            (2) in paragraph (1), in the paragraph heading, by striking 
        ``to secretary'' and inserting ``on health-care plans'';
            (3) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3);
            (4) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (2); and
            (5) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) Recovery of costs for certain care.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In any case in which an eligible 
                veteran is furnished hospital care or medical services 
                under this section for a non-service-connected 
                disability described in subsection (a)(2) of section 
                1729 of title 38, United States Code, or for a 
                condition for which recovery is authorized or with 
                respect to which the United States is deemed to be a 
                third party beneficiary under Public Law 87-693, 
                commonly known as the `Federal Medical Care Recovery 
                Act' (42 U.S.C. 2651 et seq.), the Secretary shall 
                recover or collect from a third party (as defined in 
                subsection (i) of such section 1729) reasonable charges 
                for such care or services to the extent that the 
                veteran (or the provider of the care or services) would 
                be eligible to receive payment for such care or 
                services from such third party if the care or services 
                had not been furnished by a department or agency of the 
                United States.
                    ``(B) Use of amounts.--Amounts collected by the 
                Secretary under subparagraph (A) shall be deposited in 
                the Medical Community Care account of the Department. 
                Amounts so deposited shall remain available until 
                expended.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Paragraph (1) of such section is amended 
by striking ``paragraph (4)'' and inserting ``paragraph (2)''.

SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO DISCLOSE CERTAIN MEDICAL RECORDS OF VETERANS WHO 
              RECEIVE NON-DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HEALTH CARE.

    Section 7332(b)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
            ``(H)(i) To a non-Department entity (including private 
        entities and other Federal agencies) that provides hospital 
        care or medical services to veterans as authorized by the 
        Secretary.
            ``(ii) An entity to which a record is disclosed under this 
        subparagraph may not redisclose or use such record for a 
        purpose other than that for which the disclosure was made.''.
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