Title: Leave no Veteran Behind Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Leave no Veteran Behind Act
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to seek to contact covered veterans to encourage them to receive comprehensive physical, mental health, eye, and audiological examinations. A covered veteran is a veteran who is enrolled in the VA health care system and has not received health care furnished or paid for by the VA in the past two years.
Under the bill, if a covered veteran elects to receive more than one of the comprehensive examinations at a VA health care facility, the VA shall seek to furnish all such examinations on the same day. A covered veteran may also receive an examination from another specified health care provider.
The bill provides that the VA may pay for a rural covered veteran to travel to a health care facility to receive a comprehensive examination. The VA shall seek to enter into agreements with non-profit organizations to provide shuttle service to rural covered veterans for such examinations.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4154 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4154

 To direct the Under Secretary of Health of the Department of Veterans 
   Affairs to contact certain veterans to encourage such veterans to 
receive medical examinations furnished or paid for by the Secretary of 
                           Veterans Affairs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 2, 2019

    Mrs. Lee of Nevada (for herself and Mr. Watkins) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Under Secretary of Health of the Department of Veterans 
   Affairs to contact certain veterans to encourage such veterans to 
receive medical examinations furnished or paid for by the Secretary of 
                           Veterans Affairs.

    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 ``Leave no Veteran Behind Act''.

SEC. 2. MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS FOR CERTAIN VETERANS.

    (a) Notice.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Under Secretary of Health of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs shall seek to contact each covered veteran by mail, 
telephone, or email to encourage each covered veteran to receive 
medical examinations including the following:
            (1) A comprehensive physical examination.
            (2) A comprehensive mental health examination.
            (3) A comprehensive eye examination if the covered veteran 
        has not received such an examination in the year immediately 
        preceding the date of such examination.
            (4) A comprehensive audiological examination if the covered 
        veteran has not received such an examination in the year 
        immediately preceding the date of such examination.
    (b) Examinations.--
            (1) VA health care facilities.--If a covered veteran elects 
        to receive more than one examination described in subsection 
        (a) at a health care facility of the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs, the Under Secretary of Health shall seek to furnish 
        all such scheduled examinations on the same day.
            (2) Community care.--Pursuant to subsection (d) or (e) of 
        section 1703 of title 38, United States Code, a covered veteran 
        may receive an examination described in subsection (a) from a 
        health care provider described in subsection (c) of that 
        section.
    (c) Transportation.--
            (1) Beneficiary travel program.--Pursuant to section 111 of 
        title 38, United States Code, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
        may pay for a rural covered veteran to travel to a health care 
        facility to receive an examination described in subsection (a).
            (2) Shuttle service.--The Under Secretary of Health shall 
        seek to enter into agreements with non-profit organizations to 
        provide shuttle service to rural covered veterans for 
        examinations described in subsection (a).
    (d) Report Required.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
submit to Congress a report regarding how many covered veterans 
scheduled examinations described in subsection (a) after receiving a 
letter, telephone call, or email under that subsection.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``covered veteran'' means a veteran who--
                    (A) is enrolled in the system of annual patient 
                enrollment under section 1705 of title 38, United 
                States Code; and
                    (B) has not received health care furnished or paid 
                for by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs during the two 
                years immediately preceding the date in subsection 
                (a)(1).
            (2) The term ``rural covered veteran'' means a covered 
        veteran--
                    (A) who lives in an area served by the Office of 
                Rural Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs; and
                    (B) whom the Under Secretary of Health determines 
                requires assistance to travel to a health care facility 
                to receive an examination described in subsection (a).
            (3) The term ``veteran'' has the meaning given that term in 
        section 101 of title 38, United States Code.
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