[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6332 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6332
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve long-term care
provided to veterans by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 20, 2021
Mr. Kilmer (for himself and Mrs. Rodgers of Washington) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve long-term care
provided to veterans by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Planning for Aging Veterans Act of
2021''.
SEC. 2. STRATEGY FOR LONG-TERM CARE FOR AGING VETERANS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall develop a
strategy for the long-term care of veterans.
(b) Elements.--The strategy developed under subsection (a) shall--
(1) identify current and future needs for the long-term
care of veterans based on demographic data and availability of
services both from Department of Veterans Affairs and from non-
Department providers in the community, include other Federal
Government, non-Federal Government, nonprofit, for profit, and
other entities;
(2) identify the current and future needs of veterans for
both institutional and non-institutional long-term care (for
example, home-based and community-based services), taking into
account the needs of growing veteran population groups,
including women veterans, veterans with traumatic brain injury,
veterans with memory loss, and other population groups with
unique needs; and
(3) address new and different care delivery models,
including by--
(A) assessing the implications of such models for
the design of facilities and how those facilities may
need to change;
(B) examining the workforce needed to support aging
populations of veterans as they grow and receive long-
term care through different trends of care delivery;
and
(C) considering the feasibility and advisability of
implementing a veteran-focused independent provider
model for non-institutional care.
(c) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report
on the strategy developed under subsection (a).
SEC. 3. IMPROVEMENT OF STATE VETERANS HOMES.
(a) Standardized Sharing Agreements.--The Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall develop a standardized process throughout the Department
of Veterans Affairs for entering into sharing agreements between State
homes and medical centers of the Department.
(b) Provision of Medication to Catastrophically Disabled
Veterans.--Section 1745(b) of title 38, United States Code, is amended
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) Any veteran who has been determined by the Secretary
to be catastrophically disabled, as defined in section 17.36(e)
of title 38, Code of Federal Regulations, or successor
regulations, and on whose behalf the Secretary is paying a per
diem for nursing home or domiciliary care in a State home under
this chapter.''.
(c) Oversight of Inspections.--
(1) Monitoring.--The Secretary shall monitor any contractor
used by the Department to conduct inspections of State homes,
including by reviewing the inspections conducted by each such
contractor for quality not less frequently than quarterly.
(2) Reporting of deficiencies.--The Secretary shall require
that any deficiencies of a State home noted during the
inspection of the State home be reported to the Secretary.
(3) Transparency.--The Secretary shall publish the results
of any inspection of a State home, and any associated
corrective actions planned by the State home, on a publicly
available internet website of the Department.
(d) State Home Defined.--In this section, the term ``State home''
has the meaning given that term in section 101(19) of title 38, United
States Code.
SEC. 4. GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY PILOT PROGRAM AT STATE VETERANS HOMES.
(a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall commence
the conduct of a pilot program under which the Secretary shall provide
geriatric psychiatry assistance to eligible veterans at State homes.
(b) Duration.--The Secretary shall carry out the pilot program
under this section for a two-year period.
(c) Type of Assistance.--Assistance provided under the pilot
program under this section may include--
(1) direct provision of geriatric psychiatry services,
including health care if feasible;
(2) payments to non-Department of Veterans Affairs
providers in the community to provide such services;
(3) collaboration with other Federal agencies to provide
such services; or
(4) such other forms of assistance as the Secretary
considers appropriate.
(d) Consideration of Local Area Needs.--In providing assistance
under the pilot program under this section, the Secretary shall
consider the geriatric psychiatry needs of the local area, including by
considering--
(1) State homes with a high proportion of residents with
unmet mental health needs;
(2) State homes located in mental health care health
professional shortage areas designated under section 332 of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254e); or
(3) State homes located in rural or highly rural areas.
(e) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``State home'' and
``veteran'' have the meanings given those terms in section 101 of title
38, United States Code.
SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR AGING VETERANS AT RISK OF OR EXPERIENCING
HOMELESSNESS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall work with
public housing authorities and local organizations to assist aging
homeless veterans in accessing existing housing and supportive
services, including health services like home-based and community-based
services from the Department of Veterans Affairs or from non-Department
providers in the community.
(b) Payment for Services.--The Secretary may, and is encouraged to,
pay for services for aging homeless veterans described in subsection
(a).
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