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II
116TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
S. 4149
To amend title 38, United States Code, to remove the limitation on reimburse-
ment for emergency treatment of amounts owed to a third party or
for which the veteran is responsible under a health-plan contract.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JULY 1, 2020
Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BROWN, Ms. HIRONO, and
Mr. TESTER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re-
ferred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to remove the limita-
tion on reimbursement for emergency treatment of
amounts owed to a third party or for which the veteran
is responsible under a health-plan contract.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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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 ‘‘Emergency Care Reim-
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bursement Act of 2020’’.
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•S 4149 IS
SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF LIMITATION ON REIMBURSEMENT
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FOR EMERGENCY TREATMENT OF AMOUNTS
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OWED TO A THIRD PARTY OR FOR WHICH
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THE VETERAN IS RESPONSIBLE UNDER A
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HEALTH-PLAN CONTRACT.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c)(4) of section 1725
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of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking
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subparagraph (D).
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(b) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENT.—The amendment
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made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to any
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reimbursement request under section 1725 of such title
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submitted to the Department of Veterans Affairs for
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emergency treatment furnished on or after February 1,
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2010.
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(c) IMPACT ON EXISTING COURT CASE.—Nothing in
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this section or the amendment made by this section shall
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limit the rights of any member of the Wolfe class seeking
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relief in Wolfe v. Wilkie, No. 18–6091 (Vet. App. filed Oc-
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tober 30, 2018).
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(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
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(1) EMERGENCY
TREATMENT; HEALTH-PLAN
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CONTRACT.—The terms ‘‘emergency treatment’’ and
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‘‘health-plan contract’’ have the meanings given
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those terms in section 1725(f) of title 38, United
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States Code.
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•S 4149 IS
(2) REIMBURSEMENT
REQUEST.—The term
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‘‘reimbursement request’’ includes any claim by a
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veteran for reimbursement of a copayment, deduct-
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ible, coinsurance, or similar payment for emergency
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treatment furnished to the veteran in a non-Depart-
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ment of Veterans Affairs facility and made by a vet-
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eran who had coverage under a health-plan contract,
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including any claim for the reasonable value of emer-
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gency treatment that was rejected or denied by the
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Department of Veterans Affairs, whether the rejec-
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tion or denial was final or not.
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Æ
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