To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve matters relating to medical examinations for veterans disability compensation, and for other purposes.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill requires pilot program to conduct VA medical disability examinations at VA facilities instead of through contractors, requires study on rural veterans access to covered medical disability examinations, and requires enhanced training requirements for VA employees who order or review medical disability examinations. It relies on compliance mandates, reporting requirements, and product standards. The main policy areas are Veterans Affairs and Healthcare.
Who Benefits and How
Veterans with inadequate exams could see lower costs, Veterans submitting evidence at exams could face fewer barriers, and Veterans seeking disability compensation could see lower costs.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Private disability exam contractors could lose revenue opportunities, New and probationary VA claims processors would take on compliance duties, and VA medical facilities would take on compliance duties.
Key Provisions
- Requires pilot program to conduct VA medical disability examinations at VA facilities instead of through contractors.
- Requires study on rural veterans access to covered medical disability examinations.
- Requires enhanced training requirements for VA employees who order or review medical disability examinations.
- Requires quarterly review and priority processing of claims with inadequate or unnecessary medical exams.
- Requires mechanism for contractors to transmit medical evidence introduced by claimants during disability examinations.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
The bill requires pilot program to conduct VA medical disability examinations at VA facilities instead of through contractors, requires study on rural veterans access to covered medical disability examinations, and requires enhanced training requirements for VA employees who order or review medical disability examinations.
Key Policy Areas
Veterans Affairs, Healthcare
Primary Purpose
The bill requires pilot program to conduct VA medical disability examinations at VA facilities instead of through contractors, requires study on rural veterans access to covered medical disability examinations, and requires enhanced training requirements for VA employees who order or review medical disability examinations.
Policy Domains
Whole bill
Identified Gains
- Veterans with inadequate exams
- Veterans submitting evidence at exams
- Veterans seeking disability compensation
- Veterans filing disability claims
- Veterans waiting for disability exams
Identified Costs
- Private disability exam contractors
- New and probationary VA claims processors
- VA medical facilities
- VA Benefits Administration
- Disability exam contractors
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Blumenthal (for himself and Mr. Murphy) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Veterans filing disability claims, Veterans in rural and highly rural areas, Veterans seeking disability compensation
New and probationary VA claims processors, VA Benefits Administration, VA Secretary
Disability exam contractors, Private disability exam contractors
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Medical nexus examination or opinion for adjudicating VA disability compensation, regardless of whether conducted by VA employee or contractor
As defined under the rural-urban commuting areas coding system of the USDA
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