HR3951-119

What This Bill Does

The Rural Veterans' Improved Access to Benefits Act amends section 504 of the Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1996. Current law temporarily lets certain contract examiners perform Department of Veterans Affairs medical disability examinations across state lines if they hold a current unrestricted license in any state and are not barred from practice in any state. This bill broadens that authority from listed professions such as physician assistants, nurse practitioners, audiologists, and psychologists to any eligible health care professional who meets the statutory qualifications and performs authorized duties under a VA contract.

The bill also extends the temporary authority from its prior sunset to September 30, 2031. VA must report to Congress within 15 months after enactment on how the authority is working. The report must include the number of disability examinations performed under the authority; costs, timeliness, and legal adequacy of those examinations by professional type and by contract; examination counts by state, D.C., and each territory; numbers of each professional type performing exams; any erroneous exams performed without a contract or without authorization; and VA's plan to correct unauthorized examinations.

Who Benefits and How

Rural veterans awaiting disability exams, veterans in states with examiner shortages, contract health care professionals, physician assistants performing VA disability exams, nurse practitioners performing VA disability exams, audiologists performing VA disability exams, psychologists performing VA disability exams, VA disability-exam contractors, and the Veterans Benefits Administration benefit because the bill expands the pool of professionals who can perform examinations across state lines and keeps that authority available through September 30, 2031.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration contract managers, VA medical disability exam oversight staff, state licensing boards, VA disability-exam contractors, contract health care professionals, House Veterans Affairs Committee staff, and Senate Veterans Affairs Committee staff must comply with expanded eligibility verification, contract oversight, cross-state licensure checks, examination reporting, error identification, and correction-plan requirements. State licensing boards lose some ability to gate VA contract examinations performed in their states by out-of-state licensed professionals.

Key Provisions

• Amends temporary VA contract-examiner licensure authority to cover eligible health care professionals rather than only specific professions.
• Requires covered professionals to hold a current unrestricted license and avoid practice bars in any state.
• Extends the temporary cross-state examination authority through September 30, 2031.
• Requires VA to report examination counts, costs, timeliness, and legal adequacy by professional type and contract.
• Requires VA to report state-by-state examination counts and numbers of each professional type performing exams.
• Requires VA to identify unauthorized or noncontract examinations and provide a correction plan.