Federal

BEST for Vets Act of 2023

Source: Congress.gov · 597 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill requires that only licensed health care professionals conduct disability examinations under a Department of Veterans Affairs pilot program that uses contract physicians. The bill also directs the VA Secretary to take action to enforce this requirement and report to Congress annually on the program.

Who It Affects

- The Department of Veterans Affairs - Health care professionals conducting disability examinations for veterans - Veterans receiving disability examinations - Congress (specifically the Senate and House Committees on Veterans' Affairs)

Key Provisions

- Only health care professionals meeting specific standards can conduct disability examinations under the VA's pilot program (Sec. 2(a)) - The VA Secretary must take appropriate actions to ensure only qualified health care professionals conduct these examinations (Sec. 2(b)) - The VA Secretary must submit an annual report to both the Senate and House Committees on Veterans' Affairs about the pilot program and actions taken to enforce these requirements, starting no later than one year after the bill becomes law (Sec. 2(c)) - The section heading for the pilot program is changed from "Physicians" to "Health Care Professionals" (Sec. 2(d))

What Changes

The bill adds a prohibition preventing unqualified health care professionals from conducting disability examinations under the VA's pilot program. It also requires the VA Secretary to monitor compliance and report annually to Congress on the program's conduct.

Important Definitions

None defined in bill text

Effective Date

Not specified in bill text

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 280 To ensure that only licensed health care professionals furnish disability exami- nations under a certain Department of Veterans Affairs pilot program for use of contract physicians for disability examinations, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 7, 2023 Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. LUMMIS, and Mr. BRAUN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re- ferred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To ensure that only licensed health care professionals furnish disability examinations under a certain Department of Veterans Affairs pilot program for use of contract physi- cians for disability examinations, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Better Examiner 4 Standards and Transparency for Veterans Act of 2023’’ 5 or the ‘‘BEST for Vets Act of 2023’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:32 Feb 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S280.IS S280 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 280 IS SEC. 2. ENSURING ONLY LICENSED HEALTH CARE PROFES- 1 SIONALS FURNISH MEDICAL DISABILITY EX- 2 AMINATIONS UNDER CERTAIN DEPARTMENT 3 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PROGRAM FOR 4 USE CONTRACT PHYSICIANS FOR DISABILITY 5 EXAMINATIONS. 6 (a) PROHIBITION ON USE OF CERTAIN HEALTH 7 CARE PROFESSIONALS.—Section 504(a) of the Veterans’ 8 Benefits Improvements Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–275; 9 38 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended— 10 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary of Veterans Af- 11 fairs’’ and inserting the following: 12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 13 Affairs’’; and 14 (2) by adding at the end the following new 15 paragraph: 16 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—No examination described 17 in paragraph (1) may be carried out under this sec- 18 tion by any health care professional other than one 19 described in subsection (c)(2).’’. 20 (b) REMEDIES.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 21 shall take such actions as the Secretary considers appro- 22 priate to ensure that only health care professionals de- 23 scribed in subsection (c)(2) of section 504 of the Veterans’ 24 Benefits Improvements Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–275; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:32 Feb 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S280.IS S280 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 280 IS 38 U.S.C. 5101 note) are conducting examinations pursu- 1 ant to contracts entered into under such section. 2 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year after 3 the date of the enactment of this Act and not less fre- 4 quently than once each year thereafter, the Secretary shall 5 submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen- 6 ate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 7 of Representatives a report on— 8 (1) the conduct of the pilot program established 9 under section 504 of the Veterans’ Benefits Im- 10 provements Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–275; 38 11 U.S.C. 5101 note); and 12 (2) the actions of the Secretary under sub- 13 section (b). 14 (d) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.—Section 504 of the 15 Veterans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 1996 (Public 16 Law 104–275; 38 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended, in the 17 section heading, by striking ‘‘PHYSICIANS’’ and inserting 18 ‘‘HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS’’. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:32 Feb 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S280.IS S280 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.