,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ghgi  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #cj1 #bjbj,mrs4
 ,lee of ,nevada 7for herself1 ,mr4     
,banks1 ,mr4 ,steil1 and ,ms4 ,torres   
,small of ,new ,mexico7 introduced the  
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs   
,a ,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of 
,veterans ,affairs to establish a grant 
program to expand and improve the       
provision of telehealth services to     
veterans4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,,va ,telehealth    
,expansion ,act4  #b4 ,grant program to 
expand telehealth from ,department of   
,veterans ,affairs  7a7 ,in general ,the
 ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall 
enter into partnerships1 and expand     
existing partnerships1 with entities    
that represent or serve veterans1       
nonprofit organizations1 private        
businesses1 and other interested parties
 for the expansion of telehealth        
capabilities and the provision of       

telehealth services to veterans through 
the award of grants under subsection    
7c74 ,such telehealth services shall be 
provided by health care providers of the
 ,department of ,veterans ,affairs or   
through the ,veterans ,community ,care  
,program under section #agjc of title   
#ch1 ,united ,states ,code4  7b7        
,preference ,when selecting entities    
with which to enter into or to expand a 
partnership under subsection 7a71 the   
,secretary shall give preference to     
entities that-- 7#a7 represent veterans 
in rural or highly rural areas 7as      
determined through the use of the       
,rural-,urban ,commuting ,areas coding  
system of the ,department of            
,agriculture72 or  7#b7 operate in a    
medically underserved community 7as     
defined in section #gii;,b of the       
,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db      
,u4,s4,c4 #biep774  7c7 ,award of grants
  7#a7 ,in general ,in carrying out     
partnerships entered into or expanded   
under this section with entities        

described in subsection 7a71 the        
,secretary shall award grants to those  
entities4  7#b7 ,maximum amount of      
grants ,the amount of a grant awarded   
under this subsection may not exceed    
#ge1jjj in one year4  7#c7 ,use of      
grants  7,a7 ,in general ,grants awarded
 to an entity under this subsection may 
be used for one or more of the          
following3 7i7 ,purchasing or upgrading 
hardware or software necessary for the  
provision of secure and private         
telehealth services4  7ii7 ,upgrading   
security protocols for consistency with 
the security requirements of the        
,department4  7iii7 ,training of        
employees1 including payment of those   
employees for completing that training1 
with respect to-- 7,i7 military and     
veteran cultural competence1 if the     
entity is not an organization that      
represents veterans2  7,,ii7 appropriate
 processes for handling emergencies that
 occur during telehealth2  7,,iii7      
equipment required to provide telehealth

 services2 or  7,,iv7 any other unique  
training needs for the provision of     
telehealth services to veterans4  7iv7  
,upgrading existing infrastructure owned
 or leased by the entity to make rooms  
more conducive to telehealth care1      
including-- 7,i7 additions or           
modifications to windows or walls in an 
existing room1 or other alterations as  
needed to create a new1 private room2   
7,,ii7 soundproofing of an existing     
room2  7,,iii7 new electrical or        
internet outlets in an existing room2 or
  7,,iv7 aesthetic or other enhancements
 to establish a more suitable           
therapeutic environment4  7v7 ,upgrading
 existing infrastructure to comply with 
the ,americans with ,disabilities ,act  
of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #abaja et seq474
  7vi7 ,upgrading infrastructure or     
internet services4  7,b7 ,exclusion     
,grants may not be used for the purchase
 of new property or for major           
construction projects1 as determined by 
the ,secretary4  7d7 ,agreement on      

telehealth access points  7#a7 ,in      
general ,an entity described in         
subsection 7a7 that seeks to establish a
 telehealth access point for veterans   
but does not require grant funding under
 this section to do so may enter into an
 agreement with the ,department for the 
establishment of such an access point4  
7#b7 ,inspection to determine adequacy  
of facilities ,the ,secretary shall     
inspect any such access point to        
determine whether the access point is   
private1 secure1 and accessible to      
veterans4  7e7 ,assessment of barriers  
to access  7#a7 ,in general ,not later  
than #ah months after the date of the   
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
shall complete an assessment of barriers
 faced by veterans in accessing         
telehealth services4  7#b7 ,elements    
,the assessment required by paragraph   
7#a7 shall include the following3 7,a7  
,an assessment of current and potential 
future barriers1 including-- 7i7 cost2  
7ii7 access to broadband internet       

infrastructure and technology2  7iii7   
digital competency2 and  7iv7           
discrimination 7including cultural1     
language1 or medical discrimination74   
7,b7 ,a description of how the          
,secretary plans to address the barriers
 described in subparagraph 7,a74  7,c7  
,such other matters related access by   
veterans to telehealth while not on     
property of the ,department the         
,secretary determines relevant4  7#c7   
,report ,not later than #abj days after 
the completion of the assessment        
required by paragraph 7#a71 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        
assessment1 including any               
recommendations for legislative or      
administrative action based on the      
results of the assessment4