,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #gdfi ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #a1 #bjbj ,mr4 ,david ,p4 ,roe of ,tennessee introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to establish an advisory commission regarding eligibility for health care furnished by the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,modernizing ,veterans' ,healthcare ,eligibility ,act4 #b4 ,commission on ,eligibility 7a7 ,establishment of commission 7#a7 ,in general ,there is established a commission1 to be known as the ,commission on ,eligibility 7in this section referred to as the ,commission71 to examine eligibility for health care from the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs4 7#b7 ,membership 7,a7 ,voting members ,the ,commission shall be composed of #ae voting members who are appointed as follows3 7i7 ,three members appointed by the ,speaker of the ,house of ,representatives1 at least one of whom shall be a veteran4 7ii7 ,three members appointed by the minority leader of the ,house of ,representatives1 at least one of whom shall be a veteran4 7iii7 ,three members appointed by the majority leader of the ,senate1 at least one of whom shall be a veteran4 7iv7 ,three members appointed by the minority leader of the ,senate1 at least one of whom shall be a veteran4 7v7 ,three members appointed by the ,president1 at least two of whom shall be veterans4 7,b7 ,qualifications ,of the members appointed under subparagraph 7,a7-- 7i7 at least one member shall represent an organization recognized by the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs for the representation of veterans under section #eijb of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code2 7ii7 at least one member shall have experience as senior management for a private integrated health care system with an annual gross revenue of more than #ej1jjj1jjj2 7iii7 at least one member shall be familiar with government health care systems1 including those systems of the ,department of ,defense1 the ,indian ,health ,service1 or ,federally-qualified health centers 7as defined in section #aije7l77#b77;,b7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acif;d7l77#b77;,b7772 and 7iv7 at least one member shall be familiar with the ,veterans ,health ,administration but shall not be currently employed by the ,veterans ,health ,administration4 7,c7 ,date ,the appointments of members of the ,commission shall be made not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 7#c7 ,period of appointment 7,a7 ,in general ,members shall be appointed for the life of the ,commission4 7,b7 ,vacancies ,any vacancy in the ,commission shall not affect its powers1 but shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment4 7#d7 ,initial meeting ,not later than #ae days after the date on which eight voting members of the ,commission have been appointed1 the ,commission shall hold its first meeting4 7#e7 ,meetings ,the ,commission shall meet at the call of the ,chairperson4 7#f7 ,quorum ,a majority of the members of the ,commission shall constitute a quorum1 but a lesser number of members may hold hearings4 7#g7 ,chairperson and ,vice ,chairperson ,the ,president shall designate a member of the commission to serve as ,chairperson of the ,commission4 ,the ,commission shall select a ,vice ,chairperson from among its members4 7b7 ,duties of commission 7#a7 ,evaluation and assessment ,the ,commission shall undertake a comprehensive evaluation and assessment of eligibility to receive health care from the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs4 7#b7 ,matters evaluated and assessed ,in undertaking the comprehensive evaluation and assessment required by paragraph 7#a71 the ,commission shall evaluate and assess the following3 7,a7 ,general eligibility4 7,b7 ,eligibility of veterans with service-connected conditions4 7,c7 ,eligibility of veterans with non-service-connected conditions4 7,d7 ,eligibility of veterans who have other insurance or health care coverage 7including ,medicare and ,,tricare74 7,e7 ,eligibility of veterans exposed to combat4 7,f7 ,eligibility of veterans exposed to toxic substances or radiation4 7,g7 ,eligibility of veterans with discharges under conditions other than honorable4 7,h7 ,eligibility for long-term care4 7,i7 ,eligibility for mental health care4 7,j7 ,assigned priority for care4 7,k7 ,required copayments and other cost sharing mechanisms4 7,l7 ,other matters the ,commission determines appropriate4 7#c7 ,reports ,the ,commission shall submit to the ,president1 through the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs1 reports as follows3 7,a7 ,not later than #ij days after the date of the initial meeting of the ,commission1 an interim report on-- 7i7 the findings of the ,commission with respect to the evaluation and assessment required by this subsection2 and 7ii7 such recommendations as the ,commission may have for legislative or administrative action to revise and simplify eligibility to receive health care from the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs4 7,b7 ,not later than one year after the date of the initial meeting of the ,commission1 a final report on-- 7i7 the findings of the ,commission with respect to the evaluation and assessment required by this subsection2 and 7ii7 such recommendations as the ,commission may have for legislative or administrative action to revise and simplify eligibility to receive health care from the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs4 7c7 ,powers of the commission 7#a7 ,hearings ,the ,commission may hold such hearings1 sit and act at such times and places1 take such testimony1 and receive such evidence as the ,commission considers advisable to carry out this section4 7#b7 ,information from ,federal agencies ,the ,commission may secure directly from any ,federal agency such information as the ,commission considers necessary to carry out this section4 ,upon request of the ,chairperson of the ,commission1 the head of such agency shall furnish such information to the ,commission4 7d7 ,commission personnel matters 7#a7 ,compensation of members 7,a7 ,in general ,each member of the ,commission who is not an officer or employee of the ,federal ,government shall be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level ,,iv of the ,executive ,schedule under section #ecae of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 for each day 7including travel time7 during which such member is engaged in the performance of the duties of the ,commission4 7,b7 ,officers or employees of the ,united ,states ,all members of the ,commission who are officers or employees of the ,united ,states shall serve without compensation in addition to that received for their services as officers or employees of the ,united ,states4 7#b7 ,travel expenses ,the members of the ,commission shall be allowed travel expenses1 including per diem in lieu of subsistence1 at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter ,i of chapter #eg of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 while away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of services for the ,commission4 7#c7 ,staff 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,chairperson of the ,commission may1 without regard to the civil service laws and regulations1 appoint and terminate an executive director and such other additional personnel as may be necessary to enable the ,commission to perform its duties4 ,the employment of an executive director shall be subject to confirmation by the ,commission4 7,b7 ,compensation ,the ,chairperson of the ,commission may fix the compensation of the executive director and other personnel without regard to chapter #ea and subchapter ,,iii of chapter #ec of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 relating to classification of positions and ,general ,schedule pay rates1 except that the rate of pay for the executive director and other personnel may not exceed the rate payable for level ,v of the ,executive ,schedule under section #ecaf of such title4 7#d7 ,detail of ,government employees ,any ,federal ,government employee may be detailed to the ,commission without reimbursement1 and such detail shall be without interruption or loss of civil service status or privilege4 7#e7 ,procurement of temporary and intermittent services ,the ,chairperson of the ,commission may procure temporary and intermittent services under section #caji7;b7 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 at rates for individuals that do not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level ,v of the ,executive ,schedule under section #ecaf of such title4 7e7 ,termination of the commission ,the ,commission shall terminate #cj days after the date on which the ,commission submits the report under subsection 7b77#c77;,b74 7f7 ,funding ,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall make available to the ,commission from amounts appropriated or otherwise made available to the ,secretary such amounts as the ,secretary and the ,chairperson of the ,commission jointly consider appropriate for the ,commission to perform its duties under this section4 7g7 ,executive action 7#a7 ,action on recommendations ,the ,president shall require the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs and such other heads of relevant ,federal departments and agencies to implement each recommendation set forth in a report submitted under subsection 7b77#c7 that the ,president-- 7,a7 considers feasible and advisable2 and 7,b7 determines can be implemented without further legislative action4 7#b7 ,reports ,not later than #fj days after the date on which the ,president receives a report under subsection 7b77#c71 the ,president shall submit to the ,committees on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate and ,house of ,representatives and such other committees of ,congress as the ,president considers appropriate a report setting forth the following3 7,a7 ,an assessment of the feasibility and advisability of each recommendation contained in the report received by the ,president4 7,b7 ,for each recommendation assessed as feasible and advisable under subparagraph 7,a7 the following3 7i7 ,whether such recommendation requires legislative action4 7ii7 ,if such recommendation requires legislative action1 a recommendation concerning such legislative action4 7iii7 ,a description of any administrative action already taken to carry out such recommendation4 7iv7 ,a description of any administrative action the ,president intends to be taken to carry out such recommendation and by whom4