,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #cecb  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december #ag1 
#bjbe,mr4 ,crapo 7for himself1 ,mr4     
,king1 ,mr4 ,risch1 ,mr4 ,lee1 ,mrs4    
,blackburn1 ,mr4 ,justice1 and ,mr4     
,sheehy7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,finance  ,a ,,bill  ,to 
amend titles ,,xviii and ,,xix of the   
,social ,security ,act to streamline the
 certification process for ,state       
,veterans ,homes by allowing certain    
facilities certified by the ,department 
of ,veterans ,affairs to be deemed in   
compliance with specified ,medicare and 
,medicaid requirements1 and for other   
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,state ,veterans    
,homes ,inspection ,simplification ,act4
  #b4 ,deeming of ,state ,veterans      
,homes certified by the ,department of  
,veterans ,affairs as meeting ,medicare 
conditions of participation  7a7        
,medicare deeming authority ,section    

#ahai of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db
 ,u4,s4,c4 #acie;i-#c7 is amended by    
adding at the end the following new     
subsection3  7l7 ,special ,rule for     
,state ,veterans ,homes  7#a7 ,deemed   
compliance  7,a7 ,in general ,a ,state  
home 7as defined in section #aja of     
title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code7 that  
is inspected and certified by the       
,department of ,veterans ,affairs 7in   
this subsection referred to as the ,,va7
 in accordance with standards approved  
by the ,secretary shall be deemed to    
meet the requirements of subsections 7b7
 through 7i7 of this section if the     
,secretary determines that the following
 requirements are met3 7i7 ,the ,,va    
provides the ,secretary1 upon request1  
with documentation of inspection and    
certification1 including survey         
findings1 statements of deficiencies1   
and related corrective actions4  7ii7   
,not less than once every #b years1 the 
,,va submits its ,state home survey     
standards and inspection procedures for 

joint review with the ,centers for      
,medicare  ,medicaid ,services to       
confirm continued alignment with        
,medicare ,conditions of ,participation1
 including oversight methodologies4     
7,b7 ,requirements for approval of      
standards ,in approving standards under 
subparagraph 7,a71 the ,secretary       
shall-- 7i7 consult with the ,secretary 
of ,veterans ,affairs2 and  7ii7 ensure 
that the inspection and certification   
process used by the ,,va1 including both
 standards and enforcement practices--  
7,i7 includes1 as a minimum1 the survey 
protocols and enforcement expectations  
of the ,centers for ,medicare  ,medicaid
 ,services2 and  7,,ii7 upholds1 at a   
minimum1 the same standards of resident 
care1 safety1 transparency1 and         
accountability required under this      
section4  7#b7 ,oversight and           
enforcement ,nothing in paragraph 7#a7  
shall preclude the ,secretary from doing
 any of the following3 7,a7 ,conducting 
complaint investigations or targeted    

surveys of any ,state home4  7,b7       
,imposing remedies under subsection 7h71
 including civil monetary penalties or  
termination of participation under this 
title4  7,c7 ,revoking deemed status    
under paragraph 7#a7 if the ,,va        
certification process is found to be    
inconsistent with ,federal standards of 
transparency1 data quality1 or          
enforcement4  7#c7 ,public reporting    
,survey and certification data from ,,va
 inspections deemed valid under this    
subsection shall be reported publicly   
through the ,nursing ,home ,care        
,compare website under subsection 7i7 or
 another publicly accessible platform in
 a format determined by the ,secretary1 
in consultation with the ,secretary of  
,veterans ,affairs4  4  7b7 ,medicaid   
conforming amendment ,section #aiai of  
the ,social ,security ,act 7#db         
,u4,s4,c4 #acifr7 is amended by adding  
at the end the following new subsection3
  7l7 ,special rule for ,state veterans 
homes ,the provisions of section        

#ahai7l7 shall apply with respect to a  
nursing facility that is a ,state home  
7as defined in section #aja of title    
#ch1 ,united ,states ,code7 and that is 
inspected and certified by the          
,department of ,veterans ,affairs in the
 same manner and to the same extent as  
such provisions apply under title       
,,xviii4  4  7c7 ,effective date ,the   
amendments made by this section shall   
take effect on the date that is #ij days
 after the date of enactment of this    
,act4  #c4 ,alignment of data for public
 reporting  7a7 ,,va survey data on     
nursing home care compare ,the          
,secretary of ,health and ,human        
,services shall coordinate with the     
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs to     
ensure that inspection findings1        
deficiency statements1 and quality      
metrics from ,department of ,veterans   
,affairs-certified ,state homes 7as     
defined in section #aja of title #ch1   
,united ,states ,code7 are incorporated 
into the ,nursing ,home ,care ,compare  

website 7or a successor website71 to the
 extent feasible and consistent with    
section #ahai7;g77#e7 of the ,social    
,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4           
#acie;i-#c7;g77#e774  7b7 ,harmonization
 of survey processes ,not later than    
#ahj days after the date of enactment of
 this section1 the ,secretary of ,health
 and ,human ,services1 in consultation  
with the ,secretary of ,veterans        
,affairs1 shall issue guidance to align 
certification and data reporting        
processes to ensure consistency and     
transparency in the public reporting of 
quality and compliance information for  
,state homes 7as so defined74