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HR 1970
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Providing Veterans Essential Medications Act

To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reimburse State homes for the cost of, or to furnish to State homes, certain costly medications provided to veterans who receive nursing home care in such State homes, and for other purposes.

Introduced Mar 10, 2025

Latest action (Mar 27, 2025) Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Referred to
Veterans' Affairs Committee
Policy area
Armed Forces and National Security
Issues
Defense

Summary
  • Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reimburse State homes for costly medications provided to veterans receiving nursing home care, or to furnish such medications directly to State homes.
  • Defines "costly medication" as a drug where the average wholesale price for one month's supply, plus 3 percent transaction fee, exceeds 8.5 percent of the monthly VA payment for that veteran's nursing care.
  • Allows covered State homes to choose whether the Secretary reimburses them for costly medications or furnishes the medications directly.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)
52 cosponsors

Actions (3)
  1. Mar 27, 2025 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. · house
  2. Mar 10, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. · house
  3. Mar 10, 2025 Introduced in House

Text versions (1)
  • Introduced in House · Mar 10, 2025

Only one text version is on file, so there’s no earlier version to compare against yet.

Full text

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 10, 2025

Mrs. Miller-Meeks (for herself and Mr. Pappas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

A BILL

To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reimburse State homes for the cost of, or to furnish to State homes, certain costly medications provided to veterans who receive nursing home care in such State homes, 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.

This Act may be cited as the “Providing Veterans Essential Medications Act”.

SEC. 2. REIMBURSEMENT OF A STATE HOME FOR HIGH COST MEDICATIONS.

Section 1745(a)(3) of title 38, United States Code, is amended—

(1) by striking “Payment” and inserting “(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), payment”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:

“(B) In addition to payment described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall, at the election of a covered State home—

“(i) reimburse the covered State home for a costly medication; or

“(ii) furnish such costly medication to the covered State home.

“(C) In this paragraph:

“(i) The term ‘costly medication’ means a drug or medicine for which the average wholesale price for one month’s supply, plus a 3 percent transaction fee, exceeds 8.5 percent of the payment under subparagraph (A) by the Secretary to a covered State home for care provided to the veteran who receives such costly medication during such month.

“(ii) The term ‘covered State home’ means a State home that, in the course of nursing home care provided pursuant to a contract (or agreement) under paragraph (1), provides to a veteran a costly medication.”. <all>

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