What This Bill Does
This bill amends federal law to expand what the Veterans Affairs Department can reimburse (pay back) veterans for during emergency medical care. The main change is to include emergency transportation costs along with emergency treatment costs. The bill broadens the definition of "emergency services" to cover ambulance rides to and from medical facilities.
Who It Affects
Veterans who need emergency medical transportation by ambulance or air ambulance to reach federal medical facilities.
Key Provisions
• The bill changes the term "emergency treatment" to "emergency services" throughout the law to include both treatment and transportation (Sec. 2(a)).
• "Emergency services" now includes emergency treatment and emergency transportation provided by non-Department providers, which means companies or services not run by the Veterans Affairs Department (Sec. 2(a)(13)(C)(1)).
• "Emergency transportation" means ambulance or air ambulance rides to a facility for emergency treatment or from a non-Department facility to a Department or other Federal facility (Sec. 2(a)(13)(C)(2)).
What Changes
If this bill becomes law, veterans can be reimbursed for ambulance and air ambulance costs when they need emergency transportation to reach medical care at federal facilities. Previously, the law only covered emergency treatment costs, not transportation costs.
Important Definitions
• "Emergency services" - emergency treatment and emergency transportation (Sec. 2(a)).
• "Emergency transportation" - ambulance or air ambulance rides to get emergency treatment or to travel from a non-Department facility to a Department or Federal facility (Sec. 2(a)).
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1774
To amend title 38, United States Code, to reimburse veterans for the cost
of emergency medical transportation to a Federal facility, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 24, 2023
Mr. ALFORD (for himself, Mrs. RODGERS of Washington, Mr. STEUBE, Mrs.
KIM of California, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Mr. KILMER, and Mr. NEGUSE) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Vet-
erans’ Affairs
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to reimburse veterans
for the cost of emergency medical transportation to a
Federal facility, 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,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘VA Emergency Trans-
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portation Act’’.
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•HR 1774 IH
SEC.
2.
REIMBURSEMENT
OF
EMERGENCY
MEDICAL
1
TRANSPORTATION TO A FEDERAL FACILITY.
2
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1725 of title 38, United
3
States Code, is amended—
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(1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘EMERGENCY
5
TREATMENT’’ and inserting ‘‘EMERGENCY SERV-
6
ICES’’;
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(2) by striking ‘‘the emergency treatment’’ each
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place it appears and inserting ‘‘such emergency serv-
9
ices’’;
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(3) by striking ‘‘such treatment’’ each place it
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appears and inserting ‘‘such emergency services’’;
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(4) by striking ‘‘that treatment’’ each place it
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appears and inserting ‘‘such emergency services’’;
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(5) by striking ‘‘the treatment’’ each place it
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appears and inserting ‘‘such emergency services’’;
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(6) by striking ‘‘in a non-Department facility’’
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each place it appears;
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(7) by striking ‘‘same treatment’’ and inserting
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‘‘same emergency services’’;
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(8) in subsection (a)(2)(A), by striking ‘‘health
21
care provider that furnished the treatment’’ and in-
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serting ‘‘provider that furnished such emergency
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services’’;
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(9) in subsections (a) through (d), as amended
25
by the preceding paragraphs, by striking ‘‘emergency
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•HR 1774 IH
treatment’’ each place it appears and inserting
1
‘‘emergency services’’;
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(10) in subsection (b)(3)(B), by striking
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‘‘(h)(2)(B) or (h)(2)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘(h)(4)(B) or
4
(h)(4)(C)’’;
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(11) in subsection (f)—
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(A) by striking ‘‘treatment provided’’ and
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inserting ‘‘emergency services furnished’’; and
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(B) by striking ‘‘was provided’’ and insert-
9
ing ‘‘was furnished’’;
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(12) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘for emer-
11
gency treatment’’ and inserting ‘‘for emergency serv-
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ices’’; and
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(13) in subsection (h)—
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(A) by redesignating paragraph (1), (2),
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and (3) as paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), respec-
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tively;
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(B) in paragraph (3), as redesignated, in-
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sert ‘‘in a non-Department facility’’ after ‘‘serv-
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ices furnished’’; and
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(C) by inserting before paragraph (3), as
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redesignated, the following new paragraphs (1)
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and (2):
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‘‘(1) The term ‘emergency services’ includes
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emergency treatment and emergency transportation.
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•HR 1774 IH
‘‘(2) The term ‘emergency transportation’
1
means transportation of a veteran by ambulance or
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air ambulance by a non-Department provider—
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‘‘(A) to a facility for emergency treatment;
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or
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‘‘(B) from a non-Department facility where
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such veteran received emergency treatment—
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‘‘(i) to a Department or other Federal
8
facility; and
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‘‘(ii) at a time described in paragraph
10
(3)(C).’’.
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(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
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(1)
DEFINITION
OF
EMERGENCY
TREAT-
13
MENT.—Section 1728(c) of such title is amended by
14
striking ‘‘1725(h)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘1725(h)’’.
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(2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections
16
at the beginning of chapter 17 of such title is
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amended by striking ‘‘emergency treatment’’ and in-
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serting ‘‘emergency services’’.
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Æ
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