text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Timely Access to Health 
  Care Act''.
  
  SEC. 2. STANDARDS FOR ACCESS TO CARE.
  
      (a) Required Standards for Access to Care.--Section 1703 of title 
  38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 
  new subsection:
      ``(e)(1) For a veteran seeking primary care from the Department, 
  the standard for access to care, determined from the date on which the 
  veteran contacts the Department seeking an appointment until the date 
  on which a visit with a primary-care provider is completed, is 30 days.
      ``(2)(A) The Secretary shall prescribe an appropriate standard for 
  access to care applicable to waiting times at Department health-care 
  facilities, determined from the time at which a veteran's visit is 
  scheduled until the time at which the veteran is seen by the provider 
  with whom the visit is scheduled.
      ``(B) The Secretary shall periodically review the performance of 
  Department health-care facilities compared to the standard prescribed 
  under subparagraph (A). The Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 
  Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives an annual 
  report providing an assessment of the Department's performance in 
  meeting that standard.
      ``(3) Effective on the first day of the first fiscal year beginning 
  after the date of the enactment of this section, but subject to 
  paragraph (4), in a case in which the Secretary is unable to meet the 
  standard for access to care applicable under paragraph (1) or (2), the 
  Secretary shall, or with respect to a veteran described in section 
  1705(a)(8) of this title may, use the authority of subsection (a) to 
  furnish health care and services for that veteran in a non-Department 
  facility. In any such case--
              ``(A) payments by the Secretary may not exceed the 
          reimbursement rate for similar outpatient services paid by the 
          Secretary of Health and Human Services under part B of the 
          medicare program (as defined in section 1781(d)(4)(A) of this 
          title); and
              ``(B) the non-Department facility may not bill the veteran 
          for any difference between the facility's billed charges and 
          the amount paid by the Secretary under subparagraph (A).
      ``(4) Paragraph (3) shall not apply to a veteran enrolled or 
  seeking care at a Department facility within a Department geographic 
  service area that has a compliance rate, determined over the first 
  quarter of the first calendar-year beginning after the date of the 
  enactment of this Act, for the standards for access to care under 
  paragraphs (1) and (2) of 90 percent or more. The Secretary shall make 
  the determination of the compliance rate for each Department geographic 
  service area for purposes of the preceding sentence not later than July 
  1 of the first calendar-year beginning after the date of the enactment 
  of this Act.
      ``(5)(A) The Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' 
  Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives for each calendar-
  year quarter, not later than 60 days after the end of the quarter, a 
  comprehensive report on the experience of the Department during the 
  quarter covered by the report with respect to waiting times for 
  veterans seeking appointments with a Department health-care provider.
      ``(B) Each report under subparagraph (A) shall include the total 
  number of veterans waiting, shown for each geographic service area by 
  the following categories:
              ``(i) Those waiting under 30 days for scheduled 
          appointments.
              ``(ii) Those waiting over 30 days but less than 60 days.
              ``(iii) Those waiting over 60 days but less than 4 months.
              ``(iv) Those waiting over 4 months but who cannot be 
          scheduled within 6 months.
              ``(v) Those waiting over 6 months but who cannot be 
          scheduled within 9 months of seeking care.
              ``(vi) Those who cannot be scheduled within one year of 
          seeking care.
              ``(vii) Any remaining veterans who cannot be scheduled, 
          with the reasons therefor.
      ``(C) For each category set forth in subparagraph (B), the report 
  shall distinguish between--
              ``(i) waiting times for primary care and specialty care; 
          and
              ``(ii) waiting times for veterans who are newly enrolled 
          versus those who were enrolled before October 1, 2001.
      ``(D) Each such report shall also set forth the number of veterans 
  who have enrolled in the Department's health care system but have not 
  since such enrollment sought care at a Department health care facility.
      ``(E) The final report under this paragraph shall be for the 
  quarter ending on December 31, 2010.''.
      (b) Effective Date.--Subsection (e) of section 1703 of title 38, 
  United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on 
  the first day of the first month beginning more than six months after 
  the date of the enactment of this Act. The first report under paragraph 
  (5) of that subsection shall be submitted for the quarter ending on 
  December 31 of the first calendar year beginning after the date of the 
  enactment of this Act.
target: Veterans Timely Access to Health Care Act - Makes the standard for access to care for a veteran seeking primary care from the Department of Veterans Affairs 30 days from the date the veteran contacts the Department. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to prescribe an appropriate standard for waiting times at Department health-care facilities as measured from the time a visit is scheduled until the time the veteran is seen.
  
  Directs the Secretary to periodically review the performance of Department health-care facilities in meeting such standards. Authorizes the Secretary to contract for health care services in non-Department facilities in a case in which the Secretary is unable to meet access standards. Prohibits such contracting-out with respect to a Department geographic service area that has a compliance rate in meeting such standards of 90 percent or more.
  
  Requires quarterly reports from the Secretary to the congressional veterans' committees on the Department's experience with respect to waiting times.
feat_title: To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish standards of access to care for veterans seeking health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.