Bill > S3033

This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish partnerships between its medical facilities and medical facilities in rural areas, with the primary goal of improving healthcare access for veterans in rural regions and reducing overall costs. Each VA medical facility must enter into a partnership with a rural medical facility, which can include agreements for telehealth services, co-location or equipment leasing, training, care coordination, emergency services, and other mutually beneficial services. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs can grant waivers to medical facilities for up to five years if necessary, but must notify Congress and periodically evaluate the need for such waivers. The bill mandates that existing VA medical facilities must comply with this partnership requirement within three years of the act's enactment, and new facilities must comply within three years of first seeing patients. The VA is required to provide Congress with a detailed briefing on implementation plans within 180 days and submit biennial reports assessing the partnerships' effectiveness, including metrics such as veteran enrollment, service accessibility, and development of best practices. The bill defines "rural" using the Rural-Urban Commuting Areas (RUCA) coding system and specifies that these partnership requirements are in addition to existing VA authorities.

Military Affairs and Security

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/3033/all-info