Rural Veterans Health Care Access and Quality Act of 2009
Latest action · Apr 22, 2009 Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 111-76.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 30, 2009
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Rural Veterans Health Care Access and Quality Act of 2009 - Removes the $44,000-per-individual limit on authorized payments by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health professionals education debt reduction program. Requires notice to potential employees of their eligibility and selection for participation in such program.
Includes VA facilities in the list of medical facilities eligible for the assignment of participants under the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program.
Requires the Director of the VA's Office of Rural Health to develop an Office five-year strategic plan.
Authorizes the use of volunteer counselors as part of the Vet Center program.
Directs the Secretary to carry out a program of teleconsultation for the provision of remote mental health and traumatic brain injury assessments in VA facilities not otherwise able to provide such assessments without contracting out or reimbursing other providers for such services.
Requires the Secretary, for each Veterans Integrated Services Network, to negotiate with each party that has contracts to provide services at more than one community-based outpatient clinic in that Network to consolidate such contracts. Directs the Secretary to designate a rural outreach coordinator at each such clinic at which not less than 50% of the veterans enrolled reside in a highly rural area. Provides for peer review of health care services and patient records within the Network.
Authorizes reimbursement for veterans' beneficiaries for air travel when it is the only practical way to reach a VA health care facility.
Directs the Secretary to carry out a pilot program on incentives for physicians who assume responsibilities of primary care and mental health services to veterans at community hospitals in health professional shortage areas.
Cosponsors 2
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Mar 30, 2009.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-AK | Mark Begich | Original | Mar 30, 2009 |
| D-MT | Max Baucus | Original | Mar 30, 2009 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 22, 2009Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 111-76.
- Mar 30, 2009Introduced in Senate
- Mar 30, 2009Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3989-3991)
- Mar 30, 2009Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3988-3989)
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Emergency medical services and trauma care
- Health care coverage and access
- Health personnel
- Medical education
- Medical tests and diagnostic methods
- Mental health
- Neurological disorders
- Rural conditions and development
- Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
- Student aid and college costs
- Transportation costs
- Veterans' medical care
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 30, 2009Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.