To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize certain health care professionals employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to deliver, distribute, or dispense to veterans certain controlled medications via telemedicine under certain conditions, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Additional sponsors: Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Van Drew, …
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the …
Mr. Womack (for himself, Mr. Bishop, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Davis …
Summary
What This Bill Does
Authorizes VA health care professionals to deliver, distribute, and dispense controlled substance prescription drugs to veterans via telemedicine without requiring an in-person examination, if the provider is properly licensed and acting within professional standards.
Who Benefits and How
Veterans gain improved access to needed medications including pain management and mental health drugs without travel. VA providers can more efficiently serve veterans remotely, especially in rural areas.
Who Bears the Burden and How
DEA and VA must ensure controlled substance telemedicine complies with Controlled Substances Act. Potential for diversion requires monitoring.
Key Provisions
- VA providers can prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine
- No in-person exam required
- Provider must be fully licensed and acting professionally
- Must be for legitimate medical purpose
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Authorizes VA health professionals to prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Remove barriers to veteran access to needed medications via telemedicine"
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology