Bill Text: IA HF215 | 2023-2024 | 90th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to veterans health care services.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-02-07 - Introduced, referred to Veterans Affairs. H.J. 251. [HF215 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2023-HF215-Introduced.html
House
File
215
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
215
BY
BROWN-POWERS
,
CROKEN
,
KRESSIG
,
STAED
,
BAGNIEWSKI
,
GJERDE
,
AMOS
,
MATSON
,
KURTH
,
WILSON
,
EHLERT
,
WILBURN
,
and
STECKMAN
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
veterans
health
care
services.
1
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
2
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Section
1.
NEW
SECTION
.
35A.19
Veterans
case
manager.
1
1.
For
the
purposes
of
this
section:
2
a.
“Health
care
facility”
means
a
hospital
as
defined
in
3
section
135B.1,
or
a
health
care
facility
as
defined
in
section
4
144D.1.
5
b.
“Veterans
health
care
facility”
means
a
health
care
6
facility
operated
by
the
veterans
health
administration.
7
2.
A
veterans
case
manager
shall
be
appointed
by
the
8
director,
in
consultation
with
the
director
of
the
department
9
of
inspections
and
appeals
and
the
director
of
health
and
10
human
services,
to
assist
veterans
in
obtaining
the
greatest
11
degree
of
health
care
and
health
care
benefits
available
and
12
to
promote
policies
that
would
benefit
veterans
seeking
health
13
care.
The
case
manager
shall
serve
at
the
pleasure
of,
and
14
report
directly
to,
the
director.
15
3.
The
veterans
case
manager
shall
perform
the
following
16
duties:
17
a.
Act
as
an
intermediary
between
health
care
facilities
and
18
veterans
health
care
facilities.
19
b.
Assist
health
care
facilities
in
the
transfer
of
veterans
20
to
veterans
health
care
facilities.
21
c.
Provide
information
to
veterans
and
health
care
22
facilities
regarding
health
care
services
available
to
23
veterans.
24
d.
Apply
for,
receive,
and
administer
federal
aids,
grants,
25
and
gifts
relating
to
inpatient
health
care
services
for
26
veterans.
27
e.
Work
with
county
veteran
affairs
offices
to
inform
28
veterans
of
benefits
that
may
be
available
to
veterans
for
29
health
care
services.
30
f.
Recommend
to
the
department
of
inspections
and
appeals
31
standards
and
courses
of
study
that
fulfill
the
requirements
of
32
section
272C.2C,
subsection
1A.
33
g.
Ensure
that
veterans
are
treated
by
health
care
34
facilities
with
at
least
the
same
level
of
care
as
nonveterans.
35
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h.
Encourage
physicians,
nurses,
and
other
individuals
1
working
in
health
care
who
have
military
experience
to
work
in
2
Iowa.
3
i.
Inform
Iowa
residents
who
are
veterans
or
currently
4
serving
in
the
military
about
education,
benefits,
and
support
5
available
to
obtain
a
degree
or
certification
that
would
allow
6
the
person
to
become
a
health
care
worker.
7
j.
Collaborate
with
health
care
facilities
in
identifying,
8
upon
a
person’s
admission
to
a
health
care
facility,
the
9
person’s
eligibility
for
benefits
through
the
United
States
10
department
of
veterans
affairs,
including
prescription
drug
11
benefit
eligibility,
and
programs
with
a
focus
on
veterans.
12
k.
Collaborate
with
the
department
of
inspections
and
13
appeals
to
identify
any
barriers
to
veterans
in
accessing
14
prescription
drug
benefits
designated
for
veterans.
15
l.
Assist
health
care
facilities
in
amending
rules
and
16
procedures
for
medication
administration
to
allow
veterans
17
greater
access
to
prescription
drug
benefits.
18
Sec.
2.
Section
135B.1,
Code
2023,
is
amended
by
adding
the
19
following
new
subsections:
20
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
5.
“Veteran”
means
the
same
as
defined
in
21
section
35.1.
22
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
6.
“Veterans
case
manager”
means
the
same
23
as
described
in
the
provisions
of
section
35A.19.
24
Sec.
3.
Section
135B.7,
Code
2023,
is
amended
by
adding
the
25
following
new
subsections:
26
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
6.
The
department
shall
adopt
rules
27
requiring
hospitals,
upon
identifying
a
person
requiring
28
inpatient
health
services
as
a
veteran,
to
establish
and
29
implement
protocols
providing
for
all
of
the
following:
30
a.
Contacting
the
veterans
case
manager
regarding
the
31
veteran’s
admission.
32
b.
Identifying
whether
the
veteran
is
at
risk
for
causing
33
harm
to
the
veteran’s
self
or
others.
34
c.
Holding
a
veteran
experiencing
or
at
risk
of
experiencing
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a
mental
health
crisis
for
a
period
of
not
less
than
1
twenty-three
hours
unless
a
court
order
dictates
otherwise
or
2
the
patient
is
allowed
to
transfer
to
a
veterans
health
care
3
facility
as
defined
in
section
35A.19.
4
d.
Requiring
the
hospital
to
evaluate
the
veteran’s
mental
5
stability
to
determine
if
the
veteran
is
a
threat
to
the
6
safety
of
the
veteran’s
self
or
others
prior
to
the
veteran’s
7
discharge.
8
e.
Preventing
the
hospital
from
treating
a
veteran
with
less
9
or
different
care
than
nonveteran
patients
solely
because
of
a
10
person’s
veteran
status.
11
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
7.
The
department,
in
consultation
with
the
12
department
of
veterans
affairs,
shall
adopt
rules
that
provide
13
that
if
a
person
is
eligible
for
benefits
through
the
United
14
States
department
of
veterans
affairs
or
any
other
third-party
15
payor,
the
payor
of
last
resort
for
reimbursement
to
a
hospital
16
is
the
medical
assistance
program
established
under
chapter
17
249A.
The
rules
shall
also
require
the
hospital
to
request
18
information
from
a
person
or
a
person’s
personal
representative
19
regarding
the
person’s
veteran
status
and
to
report
to
the
20
veterans
case
manager
only
the
names
of
persons
identified
as
21
potential
veterans
along
with
the
names
of
their
spouses
and
22
any
dependents.
Information
reported
by
the
hospital
shall
be
23
verified
by
the
department.
This
subsection
shall
not
apply
to
24
the
admission
of
a
person
for
outpatient
health
services.
25
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
8.
The
department
shall
adopt
rules
26
that
require
hospitals
to
collaborate
with
the
veterans
case
27
manager
to
identify
barriers
veterans
may
face
in
obtaining
28
prescription
drug
benefits,
and
require,
upon
the
admission
29
of
a
person
eligible
for
benefits
through
the
United
States
30
department
of
veterans
affairs
to
a
hospital,
the
hospital
31
to
cooperate
with
the
veterans
case
manager
to
assess
the
32
extent
for
which
the
person
is
eligible
for
prescription
drug
33
benefits.
34
Sec.
4.
Section
272C.2C,
Code
2023,
is
amended
by
adding
the
35
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following
new
subsection:
1
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
1A.
The
board
of
medicine,
board
of
2
dentistry,
board
of
physician
assistants,
board
of
podiatry,
3
and
board
of
nursing
shall
establish
rules
requiring
a
person
4
licensed
pursuant
to
section
148.3,
148C.3,
149.3,
or
152.6
or
5
chapter
153
to
receive
continuing
education
credits
regarding
6
the
treatment
of
veterans,
as
defined
in
section
35.1,
as
7
a
condition
of
license
renewal.
Each
licensing
board,
in
8
consultation
with
the
veterans
case
manager
established
in
9
section
35A.19,
shall
have
the
authority
to
determine
how
often
10
a
licensee
must
receive
continuing
education
credits.
11
EXPLANATION
12
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
13
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
14
This
bill
relates
to
veterans
health
care
services.
15
The
bill
creates
the
position
of
veterans
case
manager
16
within
the
department
of
veterans
affairs.
The
veterans
case
17
manager
shall
be
appointed
by
the
executive
director
of
the
18
Iowa
department
of
veterans
affairs
in
consultation
with
the
19
director
of
the
department
of
inspections
and
appeals
and
the
20
director
of
the
department
of
health
and
human
services,
to
21
assist
veterans
in
obtaining
the
greatest
degree
of
health
care
22
and
health
care
benefits
available
and
to
promote
policies
that
23
would
benefit
veterans
seeking
health
care.
The
veterans
case
24
manager
shall
serve
at
the
pleasure
of,
and
report
directly
to,
25
the
executive
director
of
the
department
of
veterans
affairs.
26
The
bill
specifies
the
duties
of
a
veterans
case
manager.
27
The
bill
requires
the
department
of
inspections
and
appeals
28
to
adopt
rules
that
require
hospitals,
upon
identifying
a
29
person
admitted
to
the
hospital
as
a
veteran,
to
contact
the
30
veterans
case
manager,
assess
whether
the
veteran
is
a
danger
31
to
the
veteran’s
self
or
others,
hold
the
veteran
for
23
hours
32
if
that
person
is
experiencing
or
at
risk
of
experiencing
a
33
mental
health
crisis,
assess
whether
the
veteran
is
a
danger
to
34
the
veteran’s
self
or
others
prior
to
discharging
the
veteran,
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and
prevent
the
use
of
less
or
different
care
than
nonveterans
1
solely
because
of
a
person’s
veteran
status.
2
The
bill
requires
the
department
of
inspections
and
appeals,
3
in
consultation
with
the
department
of
veterans
affairs,
to
4
adopt
rules
that
provide
that
if
a
person
is
eligible
for
5
benefits
through
the
United
States
department
of
veterans
6
affairs
or
any
other
third-party
payor,
specifying
that
7
the
payor
of
last
resort
for
reimbursement
to
a
hospital
is
8
the
medical
assistance
program
established
in
Code
chapter
9
249A.
The
rules
shall
also
require
the
hospital
to
request
10
information
from
a
person
or
a
person’s
personal
representative
11
regarding
the
person’s
veteran
status
and
to
report
to
the
12
veterans
case
manager
only
the
names
of
persons
identified
as
13
potential
veterans
along
with
the
names
of
their
spouses
and
14
any
dependents.
Information
reported
by
the
hospital
shall
be
15
verified
by
the
department.
These
rules
shall
not
apply
to
the
16
admission
of
a
person
for
outpatient
health
services.
17
The
bill
requires
the
department
of
inspections
and
appeals
18
to
adopt
rules
that
require
hospitals
to
collaborate
with
the
19
veterans
case
manager
to
identify
barriers
veterans
may
face
20
in
obtaining
prescription
drug
benefits,
and
require,
upon
21
the
admission
of
a
person
eligible
for
benefits
through
the
22
United
States
department
of
veterans
affairs
to
a
hospital,
the
23
hospital
to
cooperate
with
the
veterans
case
manager
to
assess
24
the
extent
for
which
the
person
is
eligible
for
prescription
25
drug
benefits.
26
The
bill
requires
the
board
of
medicine,
board
of
dentistry,
27
board
of
physician
assistants,
board
of
podiatry,
and
board
of
28
nursing
to
establish
rules
requiring
a
person
licensed
under
29
those
boards
to
receive
continuing
education
credits
regarding
30
the
treatment
of
veterans
as
a
condition
of
license
renewal.
31
Each
licensing
board,
in
consultation
with
the
veterans
case
32
manager,
shall
have
the
authority
to
determine
how
often
a
33
licensee
must
receive
continuing
education
credits.
34
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