Title: Emergency Care Reimbursement Act of 2020
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Emergency Care Reimbursement Act of 2020
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to reimburse a veteran for a co-payment owed for emergency treatment furnished at a non-VA facility if such veteran is enrolled in VA health care and is personally liable for such emergency treatment. Such reimbursements shall apply for emergency treatment furnished on or after February 1, 2010.
This bill shall not limit the rights of those certified as a class in the case of Wolfe v. Wilkie (i.e., all claimants whose claims for reimbursement of emergency medical expenses incurred at non-VA facilities).

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4149 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4149

  To amend title 38, United States Code, to remove the limitation on 
reimbursement for emergency treatment of amounts owed to a third party 
 or for which the veteran is responsible under a health-plan contract.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              July 1, 2020

 Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Brown, Ms. Hirono, and 
  Mr. Tester) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 38, United States Code, to remove the limitation on 
reimbursement for emergency treatment of amounts owed to a third party 
 or for which the veteran is responsible under a health-plan contract.

    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 ``Emergency Care Reimbursement Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF LIMITATION ON REIMBURSEMENT FOR EMERGENCY TREATMENT 
              OF AMOUNTS OWED TO A THIRD PARTY OR FOR WHICH THE VETERAN 
              IS RESPONSIBLE UNDER A HEALTH-PLAN CONTRACT.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (c)(4) of section 1725 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended by striking subparagraph (D).
    (b) Application of Amendment.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
shall apply with respect to any reimbursement request under section 
1725 of such title submitted to the Department of Veterans Affairs for 
emergency treatment furnished on or after February 1, 2010.
    (c) Impact on Existing Court Case.--Nothing in this section or the 
amendment made by this section shall limit the rights of any member of 
the Wolfe class seeking relief in Wolfe v. Wilkie, No. 18-6091 (Vet. 
App. filed October 30, 2018).
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Emergency treatment; health-plan contract.--The terms 
        ``emergency treatment'' and ``health-plan contract'' have the 
        meanings given those terms in section 1725(f) of title 38, 
        United States Code.
            (2) Reimbursement request.--The term ``reimbursement 
        request'' includes any claim by a veteran for reimbursement of 
        a copayment, deductible, coinsurance, or similar payment for 
        emergency treatment furnished to the veteran in a non-
        Department of Veterans Affairs facility and made by a veteran 
        who had coverage under a health-plan contract, including any 
        claim for the reasonable value of emergency treatment that was 
        rejected or denied by the Department of Veterans Affairs, 
        whether the rejection or denial was final or not.
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