(a)
(1)
The Secretary shall establish access standards for furnishing hospital care, medical services, or extended care services to covered veterans for the purposes of section 1703(d).
(b)
The Secretary shall ensure that the access standards provide covered veterans, employees of the Department, and health care providers in the network established under section 1703(h) with relevant comparative information that is clear, useful, and timely, so that covered veterans can make informed decisions regarding their health care.
(c)
The Secretary shall consult with all pertinent Federal entities (including the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), entities in the private sector, and other nongovernmental entities in establishing access standards.
(d)
(1)
Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of the Caring for Our Veterans Act of 2018, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report detailing the access standards.
(2)
(3)
Not later than 540 days after the date on which the Secretary implements the access standards established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report detailing the implementation of and compliance with such access standards by Department and non-Department entities or providers.
(e) Not later than 3 years after the date on which the Secretary establishes access standards under subsection (a) and not less frequently than once every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary shall—
(f)
(1)
Subject to paragraph (3), the Secretary shall meet the access standards established under subsection (a) when furnishing hospital care, medical services, or extended care services to a covered veteran under section 1703 of this title and shall ensure that meeting such access standards is reflected in the contractual requirements of Third Party Administrators.
(2)
The Secretary shall ensure that health care providers specified under section 1703(c) of this title are able to comply with the access standards established under subsection (a) for such providers.
(3)
(A) A Third Party Administrator may request a waiver to the requirement under this subsection to meet the access standards established under subsection (a) if—
(i)
(I)
the scarcity of available providers or facilities in the region precludes the Third Party Administrator from meeting those access standards; or
(II)
the landscape of providers or facilities has changed, and certain providers or facilities are not available such that the Third Party Administrator is not able to meet those access standards; and
(ii)
to address the scarcity of available providers or the change in the provider or facility landscape, as the case may be, the Third Party Administrator has contracted with other providers or facilities that may not meet those access standards but are the currently available providers or facilities most accessible to veterans within the region of responsibility of the Third Party Administrator.
(B)
Any waiver requested by a Third Party Administrator under subparagraph (A) must be requested in writing and submitted to the Office of Integrated Veteran Care of the Department for approval by that office.
(C)
As part of any waiver request under subparagraph (A), a Third Party Administrator must include conclusive evidence and documentation that the access standards established under subsection (a) cannot be met because of scarcity of available providers or changes to the landscape of providers or facilities.
(D) In evaluating a waiver request under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall consider the following:
(i)
The number and geographic distribution of eligible health care providers available within the geographic area and specialty referenced in the waiver request.
(ii)
The prevailing market conditions within the geographic area and specialty referenced in the waiver request, which shall include the number and distribution of health care providers contracting with other health care plans (including commercial plans and the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.)) operating in the geographic area and specialty referenced in the waiver request.
(iii)
Whether the service area is comprised of highly rural, rural, or urban areas or some combination of such areas.
(E)
The Secretary shall not consider inability to contract as a valid sole rationale for granting a waiver under subparagraph (A).
(g)
(1)
The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register and on a publicly available internet website of the Department the designated access standards established under this section for purposes of section 1703(d)(1)(D) of this title.
(h)
(1)
Consistent with paragraphs (1)(D) and (3) of section 1703(d), covered veterans may contact the Department at any time to request a determination regarding whether they are eligible to receive care and services from a non-Department entity or provider based on the Department being unable to furnish such care and services in a manner that complies with the designated access standards established under this section.
(2) The Secretary shall establish a process to review such requests from covered veterans to determine whether—
(i) In this section:
(3)
The term “inability to contract”, with respect to a Third Party Administrator, means the inability of the Third Party Administrator to successfully negotiate and establish a community care network contract with a provider or facility.
(4)
The term “Third Party Administrator” means an entity that manages a provider network and performs administrative services related to such network within the Veterans Community Care Program under section 1703 of this title.
(Added Pub. L. 115–182, title I, § 104(a), June 6, 2018, 132 Stat. 1409; amended Pub. L. 115–251, title II, § 211(a)(3), Sept. 29, 2018, 132 Stat. 3174; Pub. L. 117–328, div. U, title I, § 125(a), Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5416.)