H.R. 1644

119 HR 1644 IH: Copay Fairness for Veterans Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-02-27
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 1644  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   February 27, 2025   Ms. Underwood  (for herself,  Mr. Moulton ,  Mrs. Hayes , and  Ms. Norton ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Veterans' Affairs    A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to eliminate copayments by the Department of Veterans Affairs for medicines relating to preventive health services, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Copay Fairness for Veterans Act  .
2.
Improvement to preventive health services furnished by Department of Veterans Affairs
(a)
Elimination of medication copayments
Section 1722A(a)(3) of title 38, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in subparagraph (C), by striking  or ;
(2)
in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end and inserting  ; or ; and
(3)
by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
(E)
to medication that is or is part of a preventive health service.
 .
(b)
Elimination of hospital care and medical services copayments
Section 1710 of such title is amended—
(1)
in subsection (f)—
(A)
by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and
(B)
by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new paragraph (5):
(5)
A veteran shall not be liable to the United States under this subsection for any amounts for preventive health services.
 ; and
(2)
in subsection (g)(3), by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
(C)
Preventive health services.
 .
(c)
Definition
Section 1701(9) of such title is amended—
(1)
in subparagraph (K), by striking  ; and  and inserting a semicolon;
(2)
by redesignating subparagraph (L) as subparagraph (O); and
(3)
by inserting after subparagraph (K) the following new subparagraphs:
(L)
evidence-based items or services that have in effect a rating of  A  or  B  in the current recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force;
(M)
immunizations that have in effect a recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with respect to the individual involved;
(N)
with respect to services for women—
(i)
the preventive care, screenings, and contraceptives provided for in the Health Resources and Services Administration Preventive Services Guidelines in effect as of December 30, 2022; and
(ii)
any contraceptive approved, granted, or cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, any related contraceptive care, and any related services; and
 .