,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #cjab ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #bc1 #bjai,mr4 ,rouzer 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,meadows1 ,mr4 ,la,malfa1 ,mr4 ,hudson1 and ,mr4 ,ferguson7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs to conduct outreach to veterans regarding the effect of delayed payments of claims for emergency medical care furnished by non-,department of ,veterans ,affairs medical providers by the ,office of ,community ,care and to direct the ,secretary to submit to ,congress an annual report regarding such delayed payments4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,veterans' ,credit ,protection ,act4 #b4 ,outreach to veterans regarding effect of certain delayed payments by ,department of ,veterans ,affairs ,office of ,community ,care 7a7 ,outreach ,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall conduct outreach1 including through national and local veterans service organizations1 to inform veterans of how to resolve credit issues caused by delayed payment of an eligible claim for emergency hospital care1 emergency medical services1 or other emergency health care furnished through a non-,department of ,veterans ,affairs provider4 7b7 ,annual report 7#a7 ,in general ,during the five-year period following the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall annually submit to ,congress a report on the effectiveness of the ,office of ,community ,care 7or successor office7 in providing timely payment of proper invoices for emergency hospital care1 emergency medical services1 or other emergency health care furnished through non-,department of ,veterans ,affairs providers by the required payment date4 7#b7 ,periods covered 7,a7 ,the first report submitted under paragraph 7#a7 shall cover the five-year period preceding the date of the report1 to the greatest extent practicable4 ,with respect to covering the part of such period that occurred before ,october #a1 #bjae1 the report shall evaluate the provision by the ,veterans ,integrated ,service ,networks of payments described in such paragraph4 7,b7 ,the reports following the first report shall each cover the period following the date on which the prior report was submitted4 7#c7 ,matters included ,the reports under paragraph 7#a7 shall include1 for the period covered by the report1 the following3 7,a7 ,the number of veterans who contacted the ,secretary regarding a delayed payment that negatively affected1 or will potentially negatively affect1 the credit of the veteran4 7,b7 ,the number of proper invoices submitted1 listed in a table for each quarter and fiscal year of each such period that includes-- 7i7 the total amount owed by the ,secretary under the proper invoices2 7ii7 the payment status of each proper invoice1 as of the date of the report2 and 7iii7 the period that elapsed until each proper invoice was paid1 including an explanation of any delayed payment4 7,c7 ,any comments regarding delayed payments made by medical providers4 7,d7 ,a description of the best practices that the ,office of ,community ,care 7or successor office7 can carry out to provide timely payment of a proper invoice1 including a plan to improve such timely payments4 7,e7 ,with respect to pending claims for reimbursement for emergency hospital care1 emergency medical services1 and other emergency health care furnished through non-,department of ,veterans ,affairs providers-- 7i7 the total number of such pending claims for each hospital system of the ,department1 as of the last day of the period covered by the report2 7ii7 the total number of veterans who submitted such a pending claim in each ,state1 as of such day2 7iii7 the aggregate amount of all such pending claims in each ,state1 as of such day2 7iv7 as of such day-- 7,i7 the number of such pending claims that have been pending for #cj days or longer2 7,,ii7 the number of such pending claims that have been pending for #ij days or longer2 and 7,,iii7 the number of such pending claims that have been pending for #cfe days or longer2 and 7v7 for each hospital system1 for the period covered by the report-- 7,i7 the number of claims for reimbursement for emergency hospital care1 emergency medical services1 and other emergency health care furnished through non-,department of ,veterans ,affairs providers approved during such quarter2 7,,ii7 the number of such claims denied during such quarter2 and 7,,iii7 the number of such claims denied listed by each denial reason group4 7c7 ,comptroller ,general study 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall conduct a study that evaluates the effectiveness of the ,office of ,community ,care in providing timely payment of a proper invoice for emergency hospital care1 emergency medical services1 or other emergency health care furnished through non-,department of ,veterans ,affairs providers by the required payment date4 7#b7 ,submittal ,the ,comptroller ,general shall submit to ,congress a report on the study conducted under paragraph 7#a71 including the total amount of interest penalties paid by the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs by reason of a delayed payment4 7d7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,the term delayed payment means a proper invoice that is not paid by the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs until after the required payment date4 7#b7 ,the term proper invoice has the meaning given that term in section #cija7;a7 of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#c7 ,the term required payment date means1 with respect to proper invoices for emergency hospital care1 emergency medical services1 or other emergency health care1 the date that payment is due pursuant to standards determined appropriate by the ,secretary4