Matters relating to emergency care

(a) Comprehensive review of authorities relating to emergency care (1) In general The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall seek to enter into a contract with an independent entity under which the entity shall complete and submit to the Secretary a comprehensive review of the existing authorities of the Department of Veterans Affairs to reimburse the cost of emergency treatment provided to veterans, including emergency transportation services, and determine whether and how those authorities should be modified to streamline the process and reduce confusion by veterans regarding what is covered. (2) Timing The review required under paragraph (1) shall be completed not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act. (3) Input The review required under paragraph (1) shall consider input from key stakeholders of the Department, including veterans service organizations. (b) Analysis of inpatient emergency care spending under veterans community care program (1) In general The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a detailed analysis to review inpatient emergency care spending under the Veterans Community Care Program, which shall include an assessment of— (A) how the Department of Veterans Affairs could repatriate veterans admitted to hospitals under the Veterans Community Care Program when it is medically appropriate; (B) how the Department could require third party administrators to inform the Department when patients require inpatient admission or high-dollar procedures; and (C) how the Department could conduct intensive case management for individuals with a high likelihood of emergency department visits or inpatient admissions to help reduce costs, including by using similar practices already used by private health care plans. (2) Report Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the analysis conducted under paragraph (1) and publish the report on a publicly available website of the Department. (3) Veterans Community Care Program defined In this subsection, the term Veterans Community Care Program means the Veterans Community Care Program under section 1703 of title 38, United States Code. (c) Report on expansion of tele-Emergency care (1) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the feasibility and advisability of expanding tele-emergency care in a consistent and standardized manner throughout the Department of Veterans Affairs. (2) Elements The report required under paragraph (1) shall include— (A) information on how long it would take to implement an expansion of tele-emergency care throughout the Department of Veterans Affairs; (B) an assessment of staffing needs for such an expansion; (C) an assessment of any legislative changes needed for such an expansion; (D) a cost analysis of potential savings in implementing such an expansion; and (E) an assessment of impacts on quality of care and coordination of care for veterans resulting from such an expansion.