,,ib  ,union ,calendar ,no4 #bij  #aaeth
 ,,congress  #ast ,session  ,h4 ,r4     
#babc  ,report ,no4 #aae-cid  ,,in ,,the
 ,,house ,,of ,,representatives  ,april 
#be1 #bjag ,mr4 ,thompson of            
,pennsylvania 7for himself1 ,ms4        
,brownley of ,california1 ,mr4          
,lo,biondo1 and ,mr4 ,espaillat7        
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on          
,veterans' ,affairs  ,november #g1 #bjag
 ,additional sponsors3 ,mr4 ,cooper1    
,mr4 ,rush1 ,mr4 ,kelly of              
,pennsylvania1 ,mr4 ,pocan1 ,mr4 ,ryan  
of ,ohio1 ,mr4 ,schweikert1 ,mr4        
,o',rourke1 ,mr4 ,graves of ,missouri1  
,mrs4 ,mc,morris ,rodgers1 ,mr4         
,butterfield1 ,mr4 ,jones1 ,mr4 ,walden1
 ,mrs4 ,radewagen1 ,mr4 ,welch1 ,ms4    
,kuster of ,new ,hampshire1 ,mr4        
,bergman1 ,mr4 ,arrington1 ,miss        
,gonzlez-,coln of ,puerto ,rico1 ,mr4   
,coffman1 ,mr4 ,young of ,iowa1 ,mr4    
,messer1 ,ms4 ,shea-,porter1 and ,ms4   
,sinema  ,november #g1 #bjag ,committed 

to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house  
on the ,state of the ,union and ordered 
to be printed  ,a ,,bill  ,to amend     
title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 to    
improve the ability of health care      
professionals to treat veterans through 
the use of telemedicine1 and for other  
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,veterans ,e-,health
 and ,telemedicine ,support ,act of     
#bjag or the ,,vets ,act of #bjag4  #b4 
,licensure of health care professionals 
of the department of veterans affairs   
providing treatment via telemedicine    
7a7 ,in general ,chapter #ag of title   
#ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended  
by inserting after section #agcj;,a the 
following new section3  #agcj;,b4       
,licensure of health care professionals 
providing treatment via telemedicine    
7a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any    
provision of law regarding the licensure
 of health care professionals1 a covered
 health care professional may practice  
the health care profession of the health

 care professional at any location in   
any ,state1 regardless of where the     
covered health care professional or the 
patient is located1 if the covered      
health care professional is using       
telemedicine to provide treatment to an 
individual under this chapter4  7b7     
,property of federal government         
,subsection 7a7 shall apply to a covered
 health care professional providing     
treatment to a patient regardless of    
whether the covered health care         
professional or patient is located in a 
facility owned by the ,federal          
,government during such treatment4  7c7 
,construction ,nothing in this section  
may be construed to remove1 limit1 or   
otherwise affect any obligation of a    
covered health care professional under  
the ,controlled ,substances ,act 7#ba   
,u4,s4,c4 #hja et seq474  7d7 ,covered  
health care professional defined ,in    
this section1 the term covered health   
care professional means a health care   
professional who-- 7#a7 is an employee  

of the ,department appointed under the  
authority under sections #gcjf1 #gdja1  
#gdje1 #gdjf1 or #gdjh of this title1 or
 title #e2  7#b7 is authorized by the   
,secretary to provide health care under 
this chapter2  7#c7 is required to      
adhere to all quality standards relating
 to the provision of telemedicine in    
accordance with applicable policies of  
the ,department2 and  7#d7 has an       
active1 current1 full1 and unrestricted 
license1 registration1 or certification 
in a ,state to practice the health care 
profession of the health care           
professional4  4  7b7 ,clerical         
amendment ,the table of sections at the 
beginning of chapter #ag of such title  
is amended by inserting after the item  
relating to section #agcj;,a the        
following new item3  #agcj;,b4          
,licensure of health care professionals 
providing treatment via telemedicine4  4
  7c7 ,report on telemedicine  7#a7 ,in 
general ,not later than one year after  
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 

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 effectiveness of the use of     
telemedicine by the ,department of      
,veterans ,affairs4  7#b7 ,elements ,the
 report required by paragraph 7#a7 shall
 include an assessment of the following3
 7,a7 ,the satisfaction of veterans with
 telemedicine furnished by the          
,department4  7,b7 ,the satisfaction of 
health care providers in providing      
telemedicine furnished by the           
,department4  7,c7 ,the effect of       
telemedicine furnished by the           
,department on the following3  7i7 ,the 
ability of veterans to access health    
care1 whether from the ,department or   
from non-,department health care        
providers4  7ii7 ,the frequency of use  
by veterans of telemedicine4  7iii7 ,the
 productivity of health care providers4 
7iv7 ,wait times for an appointment for 

the receipt of health care from the     
,department4  7v7 ,the reduction1 if    
any1 in the use by veterans of in-person
 services at ,department facilities and 
non-,department facilities4  7,d7 ,the  
types of appointments for the receipt of
 telemedicine furnished by the          
,department that were provided during   
the one-year period preceding the       
submittal of the report4  7,e7 ,the     
number of appointments for the receipt  
of telemedicine furnished by the        
,department that were requested during  
such period1 disaggregated by ,veterans 
,integrated ,service ,network4  7,f7    
,savings by the ,department1 if any1    
including travel costs1 of furnishing   
health care through the use of          
telemedicine during such period4        
,november #g1 #bjag ,committed to the   
,committee of the ,whole ,house on the  
,state of the ,union and ordered to be  
printed