Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act
What changed between versions
Section 105 (Standardized process to determine eligibility for mental health residential rehabilitation treatment programs) was removed entirely. This section had required a standardized screening process with 48-hour screening and admission deadlines, priority admission criteria (suicide risk, unsafe living situation, overdose risk, etc.), and a two-year sunset.
Section 106 (Improvements to Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program) was removed entirely. This section had required performance metrics, transportation coverage for admitted veterans, a clinical appeals process with 72-hour response times, real-time tracking of bed availability and wait times, staff training requirements, care coordination plans, and annual reporting to Congress.
Title V (Electronic Health Record Matters, sections 501-542) was removed entirely. This title had mandated modernization of the VA electronic health record system, implementation requirements, workflow baselines, conditional restructuring of the EHR Modernization Program, and numerous reporting obligations including reports on clinical workflows, quality metrics, personal information protection, and governance.
Section 102(b) (Transitional services) was removed. This provision had amended title 10 to require that transitional services for separating service members include information on how to enroll in the VA patient enrollment system and seek care under sections 1703 and 1710.
Section 101 was changed from declaring that a veteran-clinician agreement is 'final and not subject to review, approval, or change by the Department' to requiring the Secretary to implement existing regulations such that the eligibility determination 'is final and shall be made by the veteran and the veteran's referring clinician.' A new rule of construction was added stating nothing limits the Secretary's authority to prescribe, amend, or rescind regulations under section 1703.
Section 104 (quality of care standards) removed 'Equitable care' as a required quality standard, added the Indian Health Service as an entity the Secretary must consult with, and added Third Party Administrators to the list of non-governmental entities for consultation purposes.
The implementation period for Section 101 (Veterans Community Care Program finality) was shortened from beginning 180 days after enactment to 90 days after enactment.
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