Veterans Residential Care Choice Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4985 To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish, at the request of an eligible veteran, nursing home care and hospital care at State licensed or certified residential care facilities. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 5, 2019 Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. HIMES, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, and Mr. COURTNEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Sec- retary of Veterans Affairs to furnish, at the request of an eligible veteran, nursing home care and hospital care at State licensed or certified residential care facili- ties. 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 ‘‘Veterans Residential 4 Care Choice Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Nov 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4985.IH H4985 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4985 IH SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PROVISION 1 OF NURSING HOME CARE AND HOSPITAL 2 CARE AT STATE LICENSED OR CERTIFIED 3 RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITIES. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 17 of 5 title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 6 end the following new section: 7 ‘‘§ 1720J. State licensed or certified residential care 8 facilities 9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—At the request of an eligible vet- 10 eran for whom the Secretary is required to provide domi- 11 ciliary, nursing home, adult day health, or hospital care 12 under this chapter, or whom the Secretary determines is 13 in need of such care, the Secretary may place the veteran 14 in a State licensed or certified residential care facility that 15 meets Department standards, at the expense of the United 16 States, pursuant to a contract or agreement entered into 17 between the Secretary and the facility for such purpose, 18 if the cost of providing such care to such veteran through 19 such facility is less than the cost of providing such care 20 to the veteran through any other available option. A vet- 21 eran who is placed in such a facility under this section 22 shall agree, as a condition of such placement, to accept 23 home health services furnished by the Secretary under sec- 24 tion 1717 of this title. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Nov 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4985.IH H4985 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4985 IH ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—For purposes of this section, an 1 eligible veteran is a veteran who is eligible for hospital care 2 or medical services under section 1710 of this title. 3 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION OF STATE LICENSED OR CER- 4 TIFIED RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITY.—In this section, 5 the term ‘State licensed or certified residential care facil- 6 ity’ means any assisted living facility, basic care facility, 7 community residence, enriched housing program, home for 8 the aged, personal care home, shared housing establish- 9 ment, or other similar licensed or certified facility.’’. 10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 11 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 12 at the end of the items relating to such subchapter the 13 following new item: 14 ‘‘1720J. State licensed or certified residential care facilities.’’. (c) APPLICABILITY.—Section 1720J of title 38, 15 United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take 16 effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall 17 apply with respect to any veteran who is eligible under 18 subsection (b) of that section, including such a veteran 19 who, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, resides 20 in a State licensed or certified residential care facility, as 21 such term is defined in subsection (c) of such section. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4985.IH H4985 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS