United States 114th Congress Status: Died 1 R cosponsors

HR 3216 — VET Act Veterans Emergency Treatment Act

Last action — Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. Died in session

This bill died with 114th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

VET Act Veterans Emergency Treatment Act (Sec. 1) This bill declares that, if a veteran who is enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care program requests a medical examination or treatment at an emergency department of a VA medical facility, the veteran shall be provided with: a medical screening examination to determine whether an emergency medical condition exists; and if an emergency condition exists, stabilizing medical treatment or transfer to another VA or non-VA medical facility. The VA is deemed to have met such requirements if it offers to transfer the veteran to another medical facility, informs the veteran of the transfer's risks and benefits, and the veteran refuses to consent to the transfer. If a non-stabilized emergency medical condition exists the VA hospital may not transfer the veteran unless: the veteran (or individual), after being made aware of the risks, makes a written transfer request; a physician certifies that the medical benefits of a transfer outweigh the risks to the veteran and, in the case of a woman in labor, to the unborn child; if a physician is not present in the emergency department at the time of transfer, a qualified medical person has made such certification after a physician has determined that a transfer's benefit outweighs the risk and a physician subsequently countersigns the qualified medical person's certification; and the transfer is to a medical facility with the necessary treatment capacities. A VA or non-VA medical facility that has specialized capabilities or facilities (such as burn units, shock-trauma units, neonatal intensive care units, or, with respect to rural areas, regional referral centers) shall not refuse to accept a transfer if the facility has the capacity to treat the veteran. A VA or non-VA medical facility may not delay a medical screening examination or further medical examination and treatment in order to inquire about a veteran's payment method or insurance status. The VA may not take adverse action against a VA employee because the employee refuses to authorize the transfer of an enrolled veteran with a non-stabilized emergency medical condition or because the employee reports a violation of this bill.

Bill Text

We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.

Read HR 3216 on the official United States source →

Action History

  1. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

  2. Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

  3. On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H5891-5892)

  4. DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3216.

  5. Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H5891-5892)

  6. Mr. Miller (FL) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.

  7. Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.

  8. Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

  9. Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

  10. Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

  11. Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1131)

  12. Introduced in House

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 546 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (546)

546 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

veterans healthcare health-insurance
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HR 3216 do?
VET Act Veterans Emergency Treatment Act (Sec. 1) This bill declares that, if a veteran who is enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care program requests a medical examination or treatment at an emergency department of a VA medical facility, the veteran shall be provided with: a medical screening examination to determine whether an emergency medical condition exists; and if an emergency condition exists, stabilizing medical treatment or transfer to another VA or non-VA medical facility. The VA is deemed to have met such requirements if it offers to transfer the veteran to another medical facility, informs the veteran of the transfer's risks and benefits, and the veteran refuses to consent to the transfer. If a non-stabilized emergency medical condition exists the VA hospital may not transfer the veteran unless: the veteran (or individual), after being made aware of the risks, makes a written transfer request; a physician certifies that the medical benefits of a transfer outweigh the risks to the veteran and, in the case of a woman in labor, to the unborn child; if a physician is not present in the emergency department at the time of transfer, a qualified medical person has made such certification after a physician has determined that a transfer's benefit outweighs the risk and a physician subsequently countersigns the qualified medical person's certification; and the transfer is to a medical facility with the necessary treatment capacities. A VA or non-VA medical facility that has specialized capabilities or facilities (such as burn units, shock-trauma units, neonatal intensive care units, or, with respect to rural areas, regional referral centers) shall not refuse to accept a transfer if the facility has the capacity to treat the veteran. A VA or non-VA medical facility may not delay a medical screening examination or further medical examination and treatment in order to inquire about a veteran's payment method or insurance status. The VA may not take adverse action against a VA employee because the employee refuses to authorize the transfer of an enrolled veteran with a non-stabilized emergency medical condition or because the employee reports a violation of this bill.
Who sponsors HR 3216?
HR 3216 is sponsored by Dan Newhouse (R).
What is the current status of HR 3216?
This bill died with 114th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track HR 3216?
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