SAVE LIVES Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 682 To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish a vaccine for COVID–19 to certain individuals who are not enrolled in the patient enrollment system of the Department of Veterans Affairs. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 10, 2021 Mr. TESTER (for himself, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. MORAN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. BROWN, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. TUBERVILLE, Mr. COONS, Mr. CRAMER, and Mr. ROUNDS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish a vaccine for COVID–19 to certain individuals who are not enrolled in the patient enrollment system of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 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 ‘‘Strengthening and 4 Amplifying Vaccination Efforts to Locally Immunize all 5 Veterans and Every Spouse Act’’ or the ‘‘SAVE LIVES 6 Act’’. 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Apr 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S682.IS S682 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 682 IS SEC. 2. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 1 TO FURNISH COVID–19 VACCINE TO CERTAIN 2 INDIVIDUALS NOT ENROLLED IN PATIENT 3 ENROLLMENT SYSTEM OF DEPARTMENT OF 4 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 6 may furnish a vaccine for COVID–19 to a covered indi- 7 vidual during the COVID–19 public health emergency. 8 (b) PRIORITIZATION.—In furnishing vaccines for 9 COVID–19 under the laws administered by the Secretary, 10 the Secretary shall— 11 (1) prioritize the vaccination of veterans who 12 are enrolled in the patient enrollment system, vet- 13 erans who receive hospital care and medical services 14 pursuant to subsection (c)(2) of section 1705 of title 15 38, United States Code, and accompanying care- 16 givers of such veterans before the vaccination of cov- 17 ered individuals not otherwise described in this para- 18 graph; and 19 (2) only furnish vaccines for COVID–19 to cov- 20 ered individuals under this section to the extent that 21 such vaccines are available. 22 (c) TIMING OF VACCINES PROVIDED TO SPOUSES OF 23 VETERANS.—To the extent practicable, the Secretary may 24 offer a vaccine for COVID–19 under this section to the 25 spouse of a veteran to permit the provision of the vaccine 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S682.IS S682 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 682 IS to the spouse near the same time that the veteran receives 1 such vaccine from the Department of Veterans Affairs. 2 (d) VACCINE ALLOCATION.—It is the sense of Con- 3 gress that, to the extent practicable based on the current 4 national supply chain, the Secretary of Health and Human 5 Services should adjust the allocation for the Department 6 of Veterans Affairs for the vaccine for COVID–19 based 7 on the additional eligibility of covered individuals under 8 this section. 9 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 10 (1) ACCOMPANYING CAREGIVER.—The term 11 ‘‘accompanying caregiver’’ means a caregiver de- 12 scribed in subparagraph (D), (E), or (F) of para- 13 graph (2) who is accompanying a veteran who is re- 14 ceiving a vaccine for COVID–19 furnished by the 15 Department. 16 (2) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘covered 17 individual’’ means any of the following individuals: 18 (A) A veteran who is not eligible to enroll 19 in the patient enrollment system. 20 (B) A veteran who is eligible for care 21 under section 1724 of title 38, United States 22 Code. 23 (C) A beneficiary under section 1781 of 24 such title. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S682.IS S682 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 682 IS (D) A family caregiver of a veteran partici- 1 pating in the program of comprehensive assist- 2 ance for family caregivers under section 3 1720G(a) of such title. 4 (E) A caregiver of a veteran participating 5 in the program of general caregiver support 6 services under section 1720G(b) of such title. 7 (F) A caregiver of a veteran participating 8 in the Medical Foster Home Program, Bowel 9 and Bladder Program, Home Based Primary 10 Care Program, or Veteran Directed Care Pro- 11 gram of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 12 (G) A spouse of a veteran. 13 (3) COVERED PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.— 14 The term ‘‘covered public health emergency’’ means 15 an emergency with respect to COVID–19 declared 16 by a Federal, State, or local authority. 17 (4) COVID–19.—The term ‘‘COVID–19’’ 18 means the coronavirus disease 2019. 19 (5) PATIENT ENROLLMENT SYSTEM.—The term 20 ‘‘patient enrollment system’’ means the system of 21 annual patient enrollment of the Department of Vet- 22 erans Affairs established and operated under section 23 1705(a) of title 38, United States Code. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S682.IS S682 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 682 IS (6) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the 1 meaning given that term in section 101(2) of title 2 38, United States Code. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S682.IS S682 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS