VA Newborn Emergency Treatment Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 318 To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish medically necessary transportation for newborn children of certain women veterans. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 4, 2019 Mrs. MURRAY 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 medically necessary transportation for newborn children of certain women veterans. 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 ‘‘VA Newborn Emer- 4 gency Treatment Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Feb 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S318.IS S318 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 318 IS SEC. 2. AUTHORITY FOR SECRETARY OF VETERANS AF- 1 FAIRS TO FURNISH MEDICALLY NECESSARY 2 TRANSPORTATION FOR NEWBORN CHILDREN 3 OF CERTAIN WOMEN VETERANS. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1786 of title 38, United 5 States Code, is amended— 6 (1) in subsection (a)— 7 (A) in the matter before paragraph (1)— 8 (i) by inserting ‘‘and transportation 9 necessary to receive such services’’ after 10 ‘‘described in subsection (b)’’; and 11 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, except as provided 12 in subsection (e),’’ after ‘‘seven days’’; 13 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or’’; 14 (C) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe- 15 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 16 (D) by adding at the end the following new 17 paragraph: 18 ‘‘(3) another location, including a health care 19 facility, if the veteran delivers the child before arriv- 20 ing at a facility described in paragraph (1) or (2).’’; 21 (2) in subsection (b), by inserting before the pe- 22 riod at the end the following: ‘‘, including necessary 23 health care services provided by a facility other than 24 the facility where the newborn child was delivered 25 (including a specialty pediatric hospital) that accepts 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Feb 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S318.IS S318 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 318 IS transfer of the newborn child and responsibility for 1 treatment of the newborn child’’; and 2 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub- 3 sections: 4 ‘‘(c) TRANSPORTATION.—(1) Transportation fur- 5 nished under subsection (a) to, from, or between care set- 6 tings to meet the needs of a newborn child includes costs 7 for either or both the newborn child and parents. 8 ‘‘(2) Transportation furnished under subsection (a) 9 includes transportation by ambulance, including air ambu- 10 lance, or other appropriate medically staffed modes of 11 transportation— 12 ‘‘(A) to another health care facility (including a 13 specialty pediatric hospital) that accepts transfer of 14 the newborn child or otherwise provides post-delivery 15 care services when the treating facility is not capable 16 of furnishing the care or services required; or 17 ‘‘(B) to a health care facility in a medical emer- 18 gency of such nature that a prudent layperson rea- 19 sonably expects that delay in seeking immediate 20 medical attention would be hazardous to life or 21 health. 22 ‘‘(3) Amounts paid by the Department for transpor- 23 tation under this section shall be derived from the Medical 24 Services appropriations account of the Department. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Feb 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S318.IS S318 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 318 IS ‘‘(d) REIMBURSEMENT OR PAYMENT FOR HEALTH 1 CARE SERVICES OR TRANSPORTATION.—(1) Pursuant to 2 regulations the Secretary shall prescribe to establish rates 3 of reimbursement and any limitations thereto under this 4 section, the Secretary shall directly reimburse a covered 5 entity for health care services or transportation services 6 provided under this section, unless the cost of the services 7 or transportation is covered by an established agreement 8 or contract. If such an agreement or contract exists, its 9 negotiated payment terms shall apply. 10 ‘‘(2)(A) Reimbursement or payment by the Secretary 11 under this section on behalf of an individual to a covered 12 entity shall, unless rejected and refunded by the covered 13 entity within 30 days of receipt, extinguish any liability 14 on the part of the individual for the health care services 15 or transportation covered by such payment. 16 ‘‘(B) Neither the absence of a contract or agreement 17 between the Secretary and a covered entity nor any provi- 18 sion of a contract, agreement, or assignment to the con- 19 trary shall operate to modify, limit, or negate the require- 20 ments of subparagraph (A). 21 ‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘covered entity’ 22 means any individual, transportation carrier, organization, 23 or other entity that furnished or paid for health care serv- 24 ices or transportation under this section. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Feb 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S318.IS S318 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 318 IS ‘‘(e) EXCEPTION.—Pursuant to such regulations as 1 the Secretary shall prescribe to carry out this section, the 2 Secretary may furnish more than seven days of health care 3 services described in subsection (b), and transportation 4 necessary to receive such services, to a newborn child 5 based on medical necessity if the child is in need of addi- 6 tional care, including a case in which the newborn child 7 has been discharged or released from a hospital and re- 8 quires readmittance to ensure the health and welfare of 9 the newborn child.’’. 10 (b) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN DEBTS ALREADY IN- 11 CURRED.—Pursuant to such regulations as the Secretary 12 of Veterans Affairs shall prescribe, the Secretary may 13 waive a debt for or reimburse a veteran billed for the cost 14 of transportation that was furnished in order for a new- 15 born child to receive health care services under section 16 1786 of title 38, United States Code, before the date of 17 the enactment of this Act. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Feb 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S318.IS S318 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS