,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #ccjc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december #b1  
#bjbe,mr4 ,sullivan 7for himself and    
,ms4 ,hassan7 introduced the following  
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs
  ,a ,,bill  ,to require the ,secretary 
of ,veterans ,affairs to carry out a    
pilot program to establish or enhance a 
community integration platform for      
services for veterans1 to require the   
collection from veterans of information 
related to social determinants of       
health1 and for other purposes4  #a4    
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,leveraging ,integrated ,networks in
 ,communities for ,veterans ,act or the 
,,linc ,,va ,act4  #b4 ,pilot program on
 establishment or enhancement of        
community integration platform for      
veterans  7a7 ,in general ,beginning not
 later than one year after the date of  
the enactment of this ,act1 the         
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs1 acting

 through the ,center for ,innovation for
 ,care and ,payment of the ,department  
of ,veterans ,affairs1 shall carry out a
 pilot program under which the          
,secretary shall establish a new1 or    
enhance an existing1 interoperable      
community integration platform to       
coordinate local support services for   
veterans through other governmental and 
nongovernmental organizations 7in this  
section referred to as the pilot        
program74  7b7 ,community integration   
platform ,the community integration     
platform established or enhanced        
pursuant to the pilot program shall be  
accessible to veterans1 employees of the
 ,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 and 
others participating in the pilot       
program as determined appropriate by the
 ,secretary and shall-- 7#a7 enable the 
coordination of services such as-- 7,a7 
nutritional assistance2  7,b7 housing2  
7,c7 health care1 including preventive  
health intervention1 chronic disease    
management1 and behavioral health care2 

7,d7 transportation2  7,e7 job training2
  7,f7 child development or care2  7,g7 
caregiving and respite care2  7,h7      
disability assistance2  7,i7 suicide    
prevention2  7,j7 sexual assault        
services2  7,k7 legal aid2  7,l7        
transition programs of the ,department  
of ,defense2 and  7,m7 other services1  
as determined by the ,secretary2  7#b7  
prioritize connectivity with appropriate
 existing technology networks developed 
by public or private organizations that 
comply with1 as applicable1 standards   
adopted by the ,secretary of ,health and
 ,human ,services under section #cjjd of
 the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db 
,u4,s4,c4 #cjj;jj-#ad71 for the purposes
 described in paragraph 7#a72  7#c7     
ensure that-- 7,a7 reasonable measures  
are taken to promote connectivity and   
interoperable exchange among covered    
entities2 and  7,b7 appropriate privacy 
and security protections are in place1  
in accordance with applicable ,federal  
and ,state privacy laws2  7#d7 connect  

covered entities for purposes of        
communication1 service coordination and 
consumer assistance1 referral and       
capacity management1 outcome tracking   
and reporting1 and related services2    
7#e7 provide technical assistance and   
support covered entities in connecting  
and participating in the community      
integration platform2  7#f7 collect     
information from veterans served under  
the pilot program regarding social      
determinants of health using a          
standardized risk assessment or         
screening tool1 which shall include     
standardized definitions for identifying
 social determinants of health needs    
identified in the ,,icd-#aj diagnostic  
codes ,z#ee through ,z#fc and ,z#ge 7as 
in effect on the date of the enactment  
of this ,act7 that incorporate measures 
for quantifying the relative severity of
 any such social determinant of health  
need identified in a veteran2  7#g7     
incorporate screenings used to collect  
information under paragraph 7#f7 into   

routine care provided to veterans under 
the laws administered by the ,secretary2
 and  7#h7 be accessible via a web-based
 platform for all veterans and via a    
non-web-based alternative platform or   
process for veterans who are unable to  
easily and reliably access the web-based
 platform4  7c7 ,locations  7#a7 ,in    
general ,the ,secretary of ,veterans    
,affairs shall carry out the pilot      
program at not fewer than five medical  
facilities of the ,department of        
,veterans ,affairs4  7#b7 ,variety of   
facilities ,in selecting facilities     
under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary    
shall ensure the selection of a variety 
of different types of facilities1       
including-- 7,a7 frontier facilities2   
7,b7 under-resourced facilities2 and    
7,c7 facilities at which there are      
existing efforts to coordinate with     
community resources4  7d7 ,coordination 
and integration of programs  7#a7       
,coordination with existing networks ,in
 carrying out the pilot program1 the    

,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall  
coordinate with existing community      
networks4  7#b7 ,coordination and       
integration with ,state medicaid        
programs ,the ,secretary of ,health and 
,human ,services1 in consultation with  
the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs1   
shall issue guidance to ,states that    
includes options for ,state ,medicaid   
programs to coordinate and integrate    
medical assistance provided under a     
,state plan or waiver under title ,,xix 
of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db      
,u4,s4,c4 #acif et seq47 with services  
for veterans provided under the pilot   
program1 as well as a template for      
,states to use to request or modify     
,medicaid waiver authority under section
 #aaae of the ,social ,security ,act    
7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acae7 for such purpose4 
7e7 ,tracking of referrals  7#a7 ,in    
general ,the ,secretary of ,veterans    
,affairs shall track-- 7,a7 the accuracy
 of referrals of veterans to community  
networks under the pilot program2  7,b7 

the response time of providers to which 
such veterans are referred2 and  7,c7   
the outcome of the initial meeting by a 
veteran and the provider to which the   
veteran is referred4  7#b7 ,form ,the   
,secretary may track the information    
required under paragraph 7#a7 in any    
medium determined appropriate by the    
,secretary4  7f7 ,report ,not later than
 three years after amounts are first    
appropriated to carry out the pilot     
program1 the ,secretary of ,veterans    
,affairs shall submit to ,congress a    
report indicating the social service    
needs of veterans reflected by the use  
of services under the community         
integration platform established or     
enhanced under the pilot program1       
including an assessment of-- 7#a7 the   
need for services that is being met     
through such platform2 and  7#b7 the    
need for services that is not being met 
through such platform4  7g7 ,comptroller
 ,general evaluation1 report1 and       
recommendations  7#a7 ,evaluation ,the  

,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states shall conduct an evaluation that
 measures the overall impact of the     
community integration platform          
established or enhanced under the pilot 
program with respect to-- 7,a7 changes  
in individual and population health     
outcomes among veterans2  7,b7 changes  
in access to health care or social      
services among veterans2 and  7,c7 such 
other factors as the ,comptroller       
,general considers appropriate4  7#b7   
,report and recommendations  7,a7 ,in   
general ,not later than four years after
 the date of the enactment of this ,act1
 the ,comptroller ,general shall-- 7i7  
submit to ,congress a report on the     
evaluation conducted under paragraph    
7#a72  7ii7 make such report publicly   
available2 and  7iii7 based on such     
evaluation1 make recommendations to the 
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs on how 
to improve and sustain the community    
integration platform established or     
enhanced under the pilot program4  7,b7 

,elements of report ,the report under   
subparagraph 7,a77i7 shall include data 
on-- 7i7 what resources under the pilot 
program are being utilized the most2    
7ii7 what requests for services under   
the pilot program cannot be met2 and    
7iii7 the impact of the provision of    
services under the pilot program on     
health outcomes of veterans4  7h7       
,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7     
,community integration platform ,the    
term community integration platform     
means an interoperable platform used to 
enable the coordination1 alignment1 and 
connection of covered entities at the   
local level for purposes of             
communication1 service coordination1 and
 referral management of services1 with  
respect to services specified in        
subsection 7b77#a74  7#b7 ,covered      
entity ,the term covered entity means   
any-- 7,a7 community-based organization 
that-- 7i7 accepts referrals from health
 care organizations2 and  7ii7 provides 
services specified in subsection        

7b77#a74  7,b7 public or private health 
care provider organization2  7,c7 public
 or private funded payor of health care 
services1 including home- or            
community-based services2  7,d7 ,state1 
local1 territorial1 or ,tribal health   
and social services agency2  7,e7 ,state
 public housing authority or housing    
finance agency2  7,f7 public health     
information exchange or public health   
information network1 as defined by the  
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs2 or    
7,g7 other similar entity1 as determined
 by the ,secretary4  7#c7 ,state ,the   
term ,state means a ,state1 territory of
 the ,united ,states1 or the ,district  
of ,columbia4  #c4 ,collection of       
information from veterans related to    
social determinants of health  7a7 ,in  
general ,the ,secretary of ,veterans    
,affairs shall collect from veterans    
enrolled in the system of annual patient
 enrollment of the ,department of       
,veterans ,affairs established and      
operated under section #agje7;a7 of     

title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 as    
part of routine screenings of such      
veterans under the laws administered by 
the ,secretary1 information related to  
social determinants that may factor into
 the health of such veterans4  7b7      
,social determinants of health  7#a7 ,in
 general ,the information collected     
under subsection 7a7 shall include      
standardized definitions for identifying
 social determinants of health needs    
identified in the ,,icd-#aj diagnostic  
codes ,z#ee through ,z#fc and ,z#ge 7as 
in effect on the date of enactment of   
this ,act74  7#b7 ,incorporation of     
measures ,definitions included under    
paragraph 7#a7 with respect to          
identifying social determinants of      
health needs shall incorporate measures 
for quantifying the relative severity of
 any such social determinant of health  
need identified in an individual4