Title: A bill to clarify licensure requirements for contractor medical professionals to perform medical disability examinations for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
This bill authorizes additional health care professionals to perform medical disability examinations as part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) pilot program. Currently, the pilot program authorizes physicians with current and unrestricted licenses to perform medical disability examinations on persons applying for VA benefits. Under the bill, the following contract health care professionals are authorized to perform such examinations if they meet licensure requirements: physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, audiologists, and psychologists.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4365 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4365

To clarify licensure requirements for contractor medical professionals 
   to perform medical disability examinations for the Department of 
               Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 29, 2020

  Mr. Boozman introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To clarify licensure requirements for contractor medical professionals 
   to perform medical disability examinations for 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. CLARIFICATION OF LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTRACTOR 
              MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS TO PERFORM MEDICAL DISABILITY 
              EXAMINATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    Subsection (c) of section 504 of the Veterans' Benefits 
Improvements Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-275; 38 U.S.C. 5101 note) is 
amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Licensure of Contract Health Care Professionals.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any law regarding the 
        licensure of health care professionals, a health care 
        professional described in paragraph (2) may conduct an 
        examination pursuant to a contract entered into under 
        subsection (a) at any location in any State, the District of 
        Columbia, or a Commonwealth, territory, or possession of the 
        United States, so long as the examination is within the scope 
        of the authorized duties under such contract.
            ``(2) Health care professional described.--A health care 
        professional described in this paragraph is a physician, 
        physician assistant, nurse practitioner, audiologist, or 
        psychologist, who--
                    ``(A) has a current unrestricted license to 
                practice the health care profession of the physician, 
                physician assistant, nurse practitioner, audiologist, 
                or psychologist, as the case may be;
                    ``(B) is not barred from practicing such health 
                care profession in any State, the District of Columbia, 
                or a Commonwealth, territory, or possession of the 
                United States; and
                    ``(C) is performing authorized duties for the 
                Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant to a contract 
                entered into under subsection (a).''.
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