,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #eeee  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,january #h1         
#bjbj,mr4 ,hudson introduced the        
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs   
,a ,,bill  ,to make certain improvements
 in the provision of medical care by the
 ,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 and 
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the ,care    
,veterans ,deserve ,act of #bjbj4  #b4  
,eligibility of certain veterans with   
service-connected disabilities to       
receive non-,department of ,veterans    
,affairs medical care under ,veterans   
,community ,care ,program  7a7 ,in      
general ,paragraph 7#a7 of subsection   
7d7 of section #agjc of title #ch1      
,united ,states ,code1 as amended by    
section #aja of the ,caring for ,our    
,veterans ,act of #bjah 7,public ,law   
#aae-ahb7 is amended--  7#a7 in         
subparagraph 7,d71 by striking or at the
 end2  7#b7 in subparagraph 7,e71 by    

striking the period and inserting 2 or2 
and  7#c7 by adding at the end the      
following new subparagraph3  7,f7 the   
covered veteran has a service-connected 
disability rated at #ej percent or      
higher and elects to receive care or    
services through a non-,department      
provider4  4  7b7 ,effective date ,the  
amendments made by subsection 7a7 shall 
apply as if originally enacted in the   
,caring for ,our ,veterans ,act of #bjah
 7,public ,law #aae-ahb74  #c4          
,extension of operating hours for       
pharmacies and medical facilities of the
 ,department of ,veterans ,affairs  7a7 
,extension of operating hours for       
pharmacies ,the ,secretary of ,veterans 
,affairs shall extend the operating     
hours for each pharmacy of the          
,department of ,veterans ,affairs during
 which the pharmacy offers services     
comparable to retail pharmacies to      
include--  7#a7 operation on ,saturday1 
,sunday1 and ,federal holidays2 and     
7#b7 operation until #h3jj p4m4 on      

weekdays that are not ,federal holidays4
  7b7 ,contracts with providers during  
nights and weekends ,the ,secretary     
shall enter into contracts1 including   
through locum tenens arrangements1 with 
physicians and nurses that meet         
qualifications set forth by the         
,secretary for purposes of this section 
under which such physicians and nurses  
work at medical facilities of the       
,department during nights and weekends4 
7c7 ,support staff ,the ,secretary may  
obtain additional support staff as      
necessary to carry out this section1    
including by hiring employees or        
contracting for services4  #d4 ,conduct 
of best-practices peer review of each   
medical center of the ,department of    
,veterans ,affairs  7a7 ,in general ,the
 ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs may   
provide for the conduct by a            
nongovernmental hospital organization of
 a best-practices peer review of each   
medical center of the ,department of    
,veterans ,affairs to evaluate the      

efficacy of health care delivered at    
each such medical center4  7b7 ,priority
 ,the ,secretary shall give priority for
 peer review conducted under subsection 
7a7 to the medical centers of the       
,department with the longest wait times 
for an appointment or the worst health  
outcomes1 as determined by the          
,secretary4