This bill changes how the Department of Veterans Affairs pays doctors and healthcare providers who treat veterans through the Community Care Program. Right now, the VA pays providers based on general rates, but this bill requires the VA to set different payment rates depending on where the care actually happens—whether it's at a hospital outpatient clinic, an ambulatory surgery center, a doctor's office, or other locations. The key change is that each location where care is provided must have its own unique identifier (like a medical ID number), and providers have to use that specific identifier when they bill the VA. This ensures the VA knows exactly where a veteran received care and can pay the appropriate rate for that location. The bill also protects veterans from being charged out-of-pocket for care at off-campus hospital departments, as long as the provider bills using the correct location identifier. Essentially, the VA will have better information about where veterans are getting treated, and payment rates will reflect the actual site of service rather than just the provider's main office location.

Miller-Meeks, Mariannette

To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the rate of pay for care or services provided under the Community Care Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs based on the location at which such care or services were provided, and for other purposes.