,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dbbi  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,march #bf1    
#bjbf,mr4 ,scott of ,florida 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 establish a comprehensive   
standard for timing between referrals   
and appointments for care from the      
,department of ,veterans ,affairs and to
 submit a report with respect to that   
standard1 and for other purposes4  #a4  
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,scheduling for ,community ,health  
and ,easy ,data to ,understand for      
,legislators to ,evaluate ,services ,act
 of #bjbf or the ,,schedules ,act of    
#bjbf4  #b4 ,establishment of           
comprehensive standard for timing       
between referral and appointment for    
care from ,department of ,veterans      
,affairs  7a7 ,establishment of standard
  7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of   

,veterans ,affairs shall establish a    
comprehensive standard for timing       
between the date on which a referral for
 care for a veteran under the laws      
administered by the ,secretary is       
entered into the care coordination      
system of the ,department of ,veterans  
,affairs and the date on which an       
appointment for care for the veteran    
occurs1 whether at a facility of the    
,department or through care in the      
community4  7#b7 ,modification ,the     
,secretary may modify the standard      
established under paragraph 7#a7 as the 
appointment scheduling processes of the 
,department for care at a facility of   
the ,department or through care in the  
community are updated4  7#c7            
,publication ,not later than #cj days   
before establishing under paragraph 7#a7
 or modifying under paragraph 7#b7 the  
comprehensive standard required under   
this subsection1 the ,secretary shall   
publish such standard in the ,federal   
,register and on a publicly available   

website of the ,department4  7b7 ,report
  7#a7 ,in general ,not less frequently 
than quarterly1 the ,secretary shall    
submit to ,congress a report on the     
number and percentage of referrals from 
the ,department to facilities of the    
,department or providers in the         
community that meet the standard under  
subsection 7a74  7#b7 ,elements ,each   
report submitted under paragraph 7#a7   
shall include the following3 7,a7 ,the  
number and percentage of total referrals
 from each facility of the ,department  
that meet1 for the quarter covered by   
the report-- 7i7 the standard under     
subsection 7a72  7ii7 with respect to   
referrals to a facility of the          
,department1 the three-business-day     
standard for scheduling an appointment  
at a facility of the ,department2 and   
7iii7 with respect to referrals for care
 in the community1 the                  
seven-calendar-day standard for         
scheduling an appointment for care in   
the community4  7,b7 ,the number and    

percentage of referrals from each       
facility of the ,department that meet   
each of the standards specified in      
subparagraph 7,a71 disaggregated by each
 of the five1 or more1 most in-demand   
categories of care provided at such     
facility 7such as mental health1        
cardiology1 neurology1 oncology1 etc474 
7,c7 ,a list of all medical centers of  
the ,department ranked from best to     
worst in meeting the standard under     
subsection 7a71 including a             
disaggregated list by ,state4  7#c7     
,annually included information ,not less
 frequently than annually1 the          
,secretary shall include in the report  
required under paragraph 7#a7-- 7,a7    
aggregated data for the four-quarter    
period preceding the date of the report2
 and  7,b7 a description of steps taken 
by the ,department to improve the       
timeliness of the provision of care by  
the ,department and an estimate of when 
the ,department will be fully compliant 
with the standard under subsection 7a74 

7#d7 ,public availability ,the          
,secretary shall make each report       
required under paragraph 7#a7 publicly  
available on a website of the ,veterans 
,health ,administration4