21st Century Veterans Benefits Delivery Act - Revises or adds provisions concerning the submission of veterans' claims for benefits administered through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including by:
Revises or adds provisions concerning the practices of VA regional offices, including by:
Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD), the Commissioner of Social Security, and the Archivist of the United States to appoint individuals to act as liaisons with the VA to expedite the timely provision to the VA Secretary of information required to process veterans benefits claims.
Requires the DOD and VA Secretaries to jointly submit a report that sets forth a time line with milestones for achieving interoperability between DOD's and VA's electronic health records systems.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2091 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2091
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the processing by the
Department of Veterans Affairs of claims for benefits under laws
administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 6, 2014
Mr. Heller (for himself, Mr. Casey, Mr. Moran, Mr. Heinrich, Mr.
Vitter, and Mr. Tester) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the processing by the
Department of Veterans Affairs of claims for benefits under laws
administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``21st Century
Veterans Benefits Delivery Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I--BENEFITS CLAIMS SUBMISSION
Sec. 101. Modification of Transition Assistance Program to enable
online participation.
Sec. 102. Requirement to encourage claimants to use appropriate forms.
Sec. 103. Required communications to users of eBenefits Internet
website.
Sec. 104. Extension of authority for retroactive date of awards for
filing fully developed claims.
Sec. 105. Requirement that decisions on claims explain benefits of
filing appeals within 180 days.
Sec. 106. Requirement to use Department of Veterans Affairs form 21-
0958 in regional offices for filing of
notices of disagreement.
Sec. 107. Determination of manner of appearance for hearings before
Board of Veterans' Appeals.
TITLE II--PRACTICES OF REGIONAL OFFICES
Sec. 201. Required Comptroller General audit of regional offices of
Veterans Benefits Administration.
Sec. 202. Study on service-connected disabilities that worsen with age.
Sec. 203. Improvements to authority for performance of medical
disabilities examinations by contract
physician.
Sec. 204. Improvement of mail processing by Department of Veterans
Affairs.
Sec. 205. Review of practices of regional offices regarding use of
suspense dates.
Sec. 206. Semiannual reports on progress in implementing Veterans
Benefits Management System.
Sec. 207. Annual report on capacity of Veterans Benefits Administration
to process benefits claims.
Sec. 208. Increased transparency in Monday Morning Workload Report.
Sec. 209. Reports on appeals of decisions on benefits claims.
TITLE III--GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
Sec. 301. Increased cooperation across Government.
Sec. 302. Report on interoperability between electronic health records
systems of Department of Defense and
Department of Veterans Affairs.
TITLE I--BENEFITS CLAIMS SUBMISSION
SEC. 101. MODIFICATION OF TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM TO ENABLE
ONLINE PARTICIPATION.
Section 1144 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
``(f) Online Curriculum.--(1) The Secretary of Labor, in
conjunction with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland
Security, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall take such
actions and make such modifications to the eBenefits Internet website
as may be necessary to ensure that members of the armed forces and
spouses described in subsection (a)(1) can participate in the program
carried out under this section through such Internet website.
``(2) An individual subject to a requirement under subsection (c)
may not satisfy such requirement by participating in the program
carried out under this section solely through an Internet website.''.
SEC. 102. REQUIREMENT TO ENCOURAGE CLAIMANTS TO USE APPROPRIATE FORMS.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall encourage each individual
who is seeking to file a claim with the Secretary for a benefit under a
law administered by the Secretary to file such claim using an
appropriate form established by the Secretary for such purpose.
SEC. 103. REQUIRED COMMUNICATIONS TO USERS OF EBENEFITS INTERNET
WEBSITE.
(a) Automated Notification of Resources.--The Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall take such measures as may be necessary so that whenever
an individual establishes an account on the eBenefits Internet website
of the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense an e-
mail is sent to the individual that includes a description of the
following:
(1) The benefits of filing a fully developed claim.
(2) Where the individual can go to obtain assistance in
filing a fully developed claim, including the following:
(A) The Department of Veterans Affairs.
(B) An organization recognized by the Secretary for
the representation of veterans under section 5902 of
title 38, United States Code.
(b) Alternate Communication.--Whenever the Secretary sends a
message to an individual through the eBenefits Internet website
described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall also send such message
to the individual through the use of a second medium selected by the
individual, such as by telephone or by sending an e-mail to a private
e-mail address of the individual.
SEC. 104. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY FOR RETROACTIVE DATE OF AWARDS FOR
FILING FULLY DEVELOPED CLAIMS.
Section 5110(b)(2)(C) of title 38, United States Code, is amended
by striking ``the date that is three years after the date of the
enactment of such Act'' and inserting ``September 30, 2020''.
SEC. 105. REQUIREMENT THAT DECISIONS ON CLAIMS EXPLAIN BENEFITS OF
FILING APPEALS WITHIN 180 DAYS.
Section 5104(a) of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``In the case''; and
(2) by striking the second sentence and inserting the
following new paragraph:
``(2) The notice shall include the following:
``(A) An explanation of the procedure for obtaining review
of the decision.
``(B) An explanation of the benefits of filing for review
of the decision within 180 days.''.
SEC. 106. REQUIREMENT TO USE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FORM 21-
0958 IN REGIONAL OFFICES FOR FILING OF NOTICES OF
DISAGREEMENT.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall use Department of Veterans
Affairs form 21-0958, or such other form as the Secretary may require,
in each of the regional offices of the Department for purposes of
filing notices of disagreement under section 7105(b) of title 38,
United States Code.
SEC. 107. DETERMINATION OF MANNER OF APPEARANCE FOR HEARINGS BEFORE
BOARD OF VETERANS' APPEALS.
(a) In General.--Section 7107 of title 38, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by striking subsection (e);
(2) by redesignating subsections (d) and (f) as subsections
(f) and (g), respectively;
(3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new
subsections (d) and (e):
``(d)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a hearing before the Board shall
be conducted, as the Board considers appropriate--
``(A) in person; or
``(B) through picture and voice transmission, by electronic
or other means, in such manner that the appellant is not
present in the same location as the members of the Board during
the hearing.
``(2) Upon request by an appellant, a hearing before the Board
shall be conducted, as the appellant considers appropriate--
``(A) in person; or
``(B) through picture and voice transmission as described
in paragraph (1)(B).
``(e)(1) In a case in which a hearing before the Board is to be
conducted through picture and voice transmission as described in
subsection (d)(1)(B), the Secretary shall provide suitable facilities
and equipment to the Board or other components of the Department to
enable an appellant located at an appropriate facility within the area
served by a regional office to participate as so described.
``(2) Any hearing conducted through picture and voice transmission
as described in subsection (d)(1)(B) shall be conducted in the same
manner as, and shall be considered the equivalent of, a personal
hearing.''; and
(4) in subsection (f)(1), as redesignated by paragraph (2),
by striking ``An appellant may request'' and all that follows
through ``office of the Department'' and inserting ``In a case
in which a hearing before the Board is to be conducted in
person, the hearing shall be held at the principal location of
the Board or at a facility of the Department located within the
area served by a regional office of the Department.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
apply with respect to cases received by the Board of Veterans' Appeals
pursuant to notices of disagreement submitted on or after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
TITLE II--PRACTICES OF REGIONAL OFFICES
SEC. 201. REQUIRED COMPTROLLER GENERAL AUDIT OF REGIONAL OFFICES OF
VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION.
(a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall complete an audit of the regional offices of the Veterans
Benefits Administration--
(1) to assess the consistency of decisions being made with
respect to claims for benefits under laws administered by the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs; and
(2) to identify ways in which the consistency of such
decisions can be improved.
(b) Identification of Factors and Best Practices.--The audit
conducted under subsection (a) shall include the following:
(1) Identification of the factors, including management
practices, that distinguish higher performing regional offices
from other regional offices.
(2) Identification of best practices employed by higher
performing regional offices that distinguish the performance of
such offices from other regional offices.
(c) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date on which the
Comptroller General completes the audit required by subsection (a), the
Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report on the results of
the audit.
SEC. 202. STUDY ON SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITIES THAT WORSEN WITH AGE.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall complete
a study on covered disabilities using historical data regarding
service-connected disabilities.
(b) Covered Disabilities.--For purposes of the study required by
subsection (a), a covered disability is a service-connected disability
that the Secretary determines is of a type or class of disability or
condition that the Secretary determines is a type or class of
disability or condition that, for individuals with such type or class
of disability, the average impairment of earning capacity resulting
from such disability or condition increases as the individual with such
disability or condition ages.
(c) Matters Covered.--The study required by subsection (a) shall
include the following:
(1) Analysis of historical statistics and information
related to the progressive nature of covered disabilities, in
terms of increased impairment of earning capacity caused by the
disabilities.
(2) Development of recommendations for legislative and
administrative action that use statistics and information
described in paragraph (1) to adjudicate more quickly claims
for increased disability compensation and disability
compensation claims of veterans who had specific military
occupation specialties when serving in the Armed Forces.
(d) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report
on the study required by subsection (a), including the findings of the
Secretary with respect to such study.
(e) Public Comment.--The Secretary shall--
(1) make the report submitted under paragraph (1) available
to the public; and
(2) seek comments from the public, including from veterans
service organizations, veterans, and medical professionals, on
the recommendations developed under subsection (c)(2).
(f) Proposal.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after submitting
the report under subsection (d), the Secretary shall develop
and submit to Congress a proposal for conduct of a pilot
program to assess the feasibility and advisability of carrying
out the recommendations developed under subsection (c)(2).
(2) Input.--In developing the proposal required by
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider the comments
received under subsection (e)(2).
(3) Limitation.--The Secretary may not conduct the pilot
program proposed under paragraph (1) or any portion of such
proposal except pursuant to provisions of law enacted after the
date of the receipt by Congress of such proposal.
(g) Veterans Service Organization Defined.--In this section, the
term ``veterans service organization'' means an organization recognized
by the Secretary for the representation of veterans under section 5902
of title 38, United States Code.
SEC. 203. IMPROVEMENTS TO AUTHORITY FOR PERFORMANCE OF MEDICAL
DISABILITIES EXAMINATIONS BY CONTRACT PHYSICIAN.
(a) Extension of Temporary Authority.--Subsection (c) of section
704 of the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 (38 U.S.C. 5101 note) is
amended by striking ``December 31, 2014'' and inserting ``December 31,
2016''.
(b) Licensure of Contract Physicians.--
(1) Temporary authority.--Such section 704 is further
amended--
(A) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection
(e); and
(B) by inserting after subsection (c) the following
new subsection (d):
``(d) Licensure of Contract Physicians.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any law regarding the
licensure of physicians, a physician described in paragraph (2)
may conduct an examination pursuant to a contract entered into
under subsection (b) at any location in any State, the District
of Columbia, or a Commonwealth, territory, or possession of the
United States, so long as the examination is within the scope
of the authorized duties under such contract.
``(2) Physician described.--A physician described in this
paragraph is a physician who--
``(A) has a current license to practice the health
care profession of the physician; and
``(B) is performing authorized duties for the
Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant to a contract
entered into under subsection (b).''.
(2) Pilot program.--Section 504 of the Veterans' Benefits
Improvement Act of 1996 (38 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended--
(A) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as
subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after subsection (b) the following
new subsection (c):
``(c) Licensure of Contract Physicians.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any law regarding the
licensure of physicians, a physician described in paragraph (2)
may conduct an examination pursuant to a contract entered into
under subsection (a) at any location in any State, the District
of Columbia, or a Commonwealth, territory, or possession of the
United States, so long as the examination is within the scope
of the authorized duties under such contract.
``(2) Physician described.--A physician described in this
paragraph is a physician who--
``(A) has a current license to practice the health
care profession of the physician; and
``(B) is performing authorized duties for the
Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant to a contract
entered into under subsection (a).''.
(c) Expansion of Pilot Program.--Subsection (b) of such section 504
is amended to read as follows:
``(b) Locations.--
``(1) Number.--The Secretary may carry out the pilot
program under this section through not more than 15 regional
offices of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
``(2) Selection.--The Secretary shall select the regional
offices under paragraph (1) by analyzing appropriate data to
determine the regional offices that require support. Such
appropriate data shall include--
``(A) the number of backlogged claims;
``(B) the total pending case workload;
``(C) the length of time cases have been pending;
``(D) the accuracy of completed cases;
``(E) the overall timeliness of completed cases;
``(F) the availability and workload of the
examination units and physicians of the medical centers
in the regional office; and
``(G) any other data the Secretary determines
appropriate.
``(3) Annual analysis.--The Secretary shall carry out the
data analysis of the regional offices under paragraph (2)
during each year in which the program under this section is
carried out to determine the regional offices selected under
paragraph (1) for such year.''.
SEC. 204. IMPROVEMENT OF MAIL PROCESSING BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS.
Not later than the date that is one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall develop
and implement a plan to establish a uniform mail processing and
scanning system throughout the regional offices of the Veterans
Benefits Administration.
SEC. 205. REVIEW OF PRACTICES OF REGIONAL OFFICES REGARDING USE OF
SUSPENSE DATES.
(a) Review Required.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department of
Veterans Affairs shall conduct a review of the practices of regional
offices of the Department regarding the use of suspense dates during
the disability claim assessment process.
(b) Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department shall
submit to Congress a report on the findings of the Inspector General
with respect to the review conducted under subsection (a).
SEC. 206. SEMIANNUAL REPORTS ON PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTING VETERANS
BENEFITS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act and not less frequently than once every 180 days
thereafter until the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans
Affairs certifies to Congress that the Veterans Benefits Management
System is implemented and fully functional, the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall submit to Congress a report on the progress of the
Secretary in implementing the Veterans Benefits Management System.
(b) Contents.--The report required by subsection (a) shall include
the following:
(1) An assessment of the current functionality of the
Veterans Benefits Management System, including whether each
component of the system is fully functional, partially
functional, or not functional.
(2) For each component of the system that is partially
functional or not functional, an estimate of the date by which
the Secretary expects the component to be fully functional.
(3) Recommendations submitted to the Secretary by employees
of the Department of Veterans Affairs who are involved in
processing claims for benefits under laws administered by the
Secretary, including veteran service representatives, rating
veteran service representatives, and decision review officers,
for such legislative or administrative action as the employees
consider appropriate to improve the processing of such claims.
SEC. 207. ANNUAL REPORT ON CAPACITY OF VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION
TO PROCESS BENEFITS CLAIMS.
(a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act and not less frequently than once each year
thereafter, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the
capacity of the Veterans Benefits Administration to process claims for
benefits under laws administered by the Secretary during the next one-
year period.
(b) Contents.--Each report submitted under subsection (a) shall
include, for the period covered by the report, the following:
(1) The number of claims for benefits under laws
administered by the Secretary that the Secretary expects the
Veterans Benefits Administration to process.
(2) The number of full-time equivalent employees of the
Veterans Benefits Administration who are dedicated to
processing such claims.
(3) An estimate of the number of such claims a single full-
time equivalent employee of the Administration can process in a
year.
(4) An assessment of whether the Administration requires
additional or fewer full-time equivalent employees to process
such claims during the next 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year
periods.
(c) Public Availability.--The Secretary shall make the report
required by subsection (a) available to the public on an Internet
website of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
SEC. 208. INCREASED TRANSPARENCY IN MONDAY MORNING WORKLOAD REPORT.
(a) Disaggregation of Claims by Decisions Requiring Disability
Rating.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall include in each Monday
Morning Workload Report published by the Secretary the number of claims
for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary that have been
received by a regional office of the Department of Veterans Affairs and
are pending a decision, disaggregated by--
(1) whether the claim has been pending for more than 125
days; and
(2) whether the claim requires a decision concerning a
disability rating.
(b) Inclusion of Information on Assignment of Partial Ratings.--The
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall include in each Monday Morning
Workload Report published by the Secretary in the portion of the report
entitled ``Transformation'' and in the portion of the report entitled
``Aggregate'' the number of partial ratings assigned.
(c) Report on Fully Developed Claims.--The Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall include in each Monday Morning Workload Report published
by the Secretary the following:
(1) The total number of fully developed claims for benefits
under laws administered by the Secretary that--
(A) have been received by a regional office of the
Department of Veterans Affairs; and
(B) are pending a decision.
(2) The total number of such claims that have been pending
for more than 125 days, disaggregated by station.
SEC. 209. REPORTS ON APPEALS OF DECISIONS ON BENEFITS CLAIMS.
(a) Public Availability.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
make the reports of the Department of Veterans Affairs entitled
``Appeals Pending'' and ``Appeals Workload By Station'' available to
the public on an Internet website of the Department.
(b) Appeals Granted by Station.--The Secretary shall include in one
of the reports described in subsection (a) the percentage of appeals
granted by station.
TITLE III--GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
SEC. 301. INCREASED COOPERATION ACROSS GOVERNMENT.
(a) Appointment of Liaisons.--
(1) Department of defense.--The Secretary of Defense shall
appoint individuals as follows:
(A) At least one individual to act as a liaison
under this section between the Department of Defense
and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(B) At least one individual for each of the reserve
components of the Armed Forces to act as a liaison
under this section between the respective component of
the Armed Forces and the Department of Veterans
Affairs.
(2) Social security administration.--The Commissioner of
Social Security shall appoint at least one individual to act as
a liaison under this section between the Social Security
Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(3) National archives and records administration.--The
Archivist of the United States shall appoint at least one
individual to act as a liaison under this section between the
Social Security Administration and the Department of Veterans
Affairs.
(b) Duties of Liaisons.--Each individual acting as a liaison under
this section shall expedite the timely provision to the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs of such information as the Secretary requires to
process claims submitted to the Secretary for benefits under laws
administered by the Secretary.
(c) Procedures.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the
Secretary of Defense, the Commissioner of Social Security, and
the Archivist of the United States shall jointly develop and
implement procedures to improve the timely provision to the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs of such information as the
Secretary requires to process claims submitted to the Secretary
for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary.
(2) Timely provision.--The procedures developed and
implemented under paragraph (1) shall ensure that the
information provided to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is
provided to the Secretary not later than 30 days after the date
on which the Secretary requests the information.
(d) Annual Reports.--Not less frequently than once each year, the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress a report on--
(1) the requests for information made by the Secretary
during the most recent one-year period for information from the
Secretary of Defense, the Commissioner of Social Security, and
the Archivist of the United States required by the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs to process claims submitted to the Secretary
for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary; and
(2) the timeliness of responses to such requests.
SEC. 302. REPORT ON INTEROPERABILITY BETWEEN ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS
SYSTEMS OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND DEPARTMENT OF
VETERANS AFFAIRS.
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall jointly submit to Congress a report that sets forth a timeline
with milestones for achieving interoperability between the electronic
health records systems of the Department of Defense and the Department
of Veterans Affairs.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
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