VET CARE Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2628 To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide administrative support to providers of dental care who provide such care to veterans that is not furnished under such title, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a pilot program for the provision of dental care to certain veterans, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 9, 2019 Mr. BILIRAKIS (for himself, Mr. FERGUSON, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. MAST, Mr. HASTINGS, and Miss GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N of Puerto Rico) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide administrative support to providers of dental care who provide such care to veterans that is not furnished under such title, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a pilot program for the provision of dental care to certain veterans, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:37 May 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2628.IH H2628 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2628 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Early Treat- 2 ment for Chronic Ailment Resurgence through Examina- 3 tions Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘VET CARE Act of 2019’’. 4 SEC. 2. ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITY PRO- 5 VIDERS OF DENTAL CARE. 6 Section 1712 of title 38, United States Code, is 7 amended— 8 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 9 subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and 10 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol- 11 lowing new subsection (d): 12 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary may furnish, to a provider of 13 dental care described in paragraph (2), administrative 14 support (including information for the provider to share 15 with veterans regarding the dental insurance plan under 16 section 1712C of this title) related to dental care described 17 in paragraph (2). 18 ‘‘(2) Dental care described in this paragraph is— 19 ‘‘(A) provided to a veteran; 20 ‘‘(B) not furnished under a law administered by 21 the Secretary; and’’. 22 SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM FOR THE PROVISION OF DENTAL 23 CARE TO CERTAIN VETERANS. 24 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Veterans Af- 25 fairs shall carry out a pilot program to provide outpatient 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:37 May 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2628.IH H2628 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2628 IH dental services and treatment, and related dental appli- 1 ances, to eligible veterans enrolled under subsection (c)(3), 2 at no cost to such veterans. Under the pilot program, the 3 Secretary shall determine whether there is a correlation 4 between veterans receiving such services and treatment, 5 and the veterans suffering fewer complications of chronic 6 ailments, thereby yielding a lower cost of care. 7 (b) ELIGIBLE VETERAN DEFINED.—For purposes of 8 this section, the term ‘‘eligible veteran’’ means a veteran 9 who— 10 (1) is enrolled in the system of annual patient 11 enrollment under section 1705 of title 38, United 12 States Code; 13 (2) is not eligible for dental care under section 14 1712 of title 38, United States Code; 15 (3) the Secretary determines does not receive 16 regular periodontal care; 17 (4) is between 40 and 70 years of age; and 18 (5) has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. 19 (c) APPLICATION; EVALUATION; DISQUALIFICATION; 20 ENROLLMENT; CATEGORIZATION.— 21 (1) APPLICATION.—An eligible veteran may 22 elect to apply for the pilot program. 23 (2) EVALUATION; DISQUALIFICATION.—An eli- 24 gible veteran who applies for the pilot program shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:37 May 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2628.IH H2628 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2628 IH receive an initial periodontal evaluation, including 1 vertical bitewing radiographs. Any eligible veteran 2 diagnosed with periodontal disease that requires sur- 3 gery shall be disqualified from the pilot program. 4 (3) ENROLLMENT; CATEGORIZATION.—The Sec- 5 retary shall enroll at least 1,500 eligible veterans 6 who apply for the pilot program, giving preference to 7 veterans with service-connected disabilities that in- 8 creases in accordance with the veterans’ disability 9 ratings under chapter 11 of title 38, United States 10 Code, in a manner that ensures the following: 11 (A) One-third of eligible veterans enrolled 12 in the pilot program shall have been diagnosed 13 with no or mild periodontitis under paragraph 14 (2). 15 (B) Two-thirds of eligible veterans enrolled 16 in the pilot program shall have been diagnosed 17 with moderate to severe periodontitis under 18 paragraph (2). 19 (d) DURATION OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall 20 carry out the pilot program during the four-year period 21 beginning on the date that is 180 days after the effective 22 date of this section. 23 (e) LOCATIONS.—The pilot program shall be carried 24 out in five facilities of the Veterans Health Administra- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:37 May 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2628.IH H2628 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2628 IH tion, with one such facility in each of five Veterans Inte- 1 grated Services Networks that the Secretary considers ap- 2 propriate for the pilot program. 3 (f) PATIENT DISTRIBUTION.—Each facility shall 4 serve not more than one-fourth and not fewer than one- 5 sixth of the veterans enrolled in the pilot program, in ap- 6 proximately even proportions of veterans categorized 7 under subsection (c)(3). 8 (g) COURSE OF PROGRAM.— 9 (1) PERIODONTAL THERAPY.—The Secretary 10 shall make timely and appropriate periodontal ther- 11 apy available to veterans described in subsection 12 (c)(3)(B). 13 (2) ELECTION OF TREATMENT.—Such veterans 14 who elect to receive treatment shall be classified as 15 ‘‘treated’’. 16 (3) ANNUAL EVALUATIONS.—Each treated vet- 17 eran shall receive an annual dental evaluation, dur- 18 ing which the periodontal health of the treated vet- 19 eran shall be reassessed and recorded exactly as at 20 the initial evaluation under subsection (c)(2). 21 (4) HEALTH OUTCOME REPORTING.—For the 22 duration of the pilot program, the Secretary shall 23 collect and record data regarding the health of treat- 24 ed veterans, including events, treatments, and out- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:37 May 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2628.IH H2628 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2628 IH comes, and make such data available for analysis by 1 qualified researchers. 2 (h) EDUCATION.— 3 (1) HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.—The Secretary 4 shall provide standardized instructions to all physi- 5 cians and dentists who work in facilities described in 6 subsection (e) to ensure consistent evaluation and 7 care for veterans enrolled in the pilot program in all 8 such facilities. 9 (2) ENROLLED VETERANS.—The Secretary 10 shall provide each veteran enrolled in the pilot pro- 11 gram with an orientation, information before any 12 care is provided under the pilot program, and an 13 exit interview that includes information regarding 14 how such veteran may obtain dental services and 15 treatment after the end of the pilot program. 16 (i) EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall 17 notify those institutions of higher education (as that term 18 is defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 19 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)) that offer degrees in periodontolo- 20 gy of the pilot program so that such institutions may en- 21 gage in similar studies regarding private periodontal care 22 for veterans. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:37 May 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2628.IH H2628 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2628 IH (j) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 1 conclusion of the pilot program, the Secretary shall submit 2 a report of findings to the Congress. 3 (k) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall administer 4 the pilot program under such regulations as the Secretary 5 shall prescribe, including best practices regarding in- 6 formed consent and study registration. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:37 May 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2628.IH H2628 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS