H.R. 5261

119 HR 5261 IH: Veterans Emergency Care Reimbursement Act of 2025
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-09-10
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 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 5261  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   September 10, 2025   Mrs. Dingell  introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Veterans' Affairs    A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the limitation on reimbursement for emergency treatment of amounts owed to a third party or for which the veteran is responsible under a health-plan contract.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Veterans Emergency Care Reimbursement Act of 2025  .
2.
Modification of limitation on reimbursement for emergency treatment of amounts owed to a third party or for which the veteran is responsible under a health-plan contract
(a)
In general
Section 1725(c)(4)(D) of title 38, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
by striking  The Secretary  and inserting  (i) The Secretary ;
(2)
in clause (i), as designated by paragraph (1), by striking  or similar payment  and inserting  of less than $100 ; and
(3)
by adding at the end the following new clause:
(ii)
In this subparagraph, the term  copayment  means a fixed amount paid by an individual for a covered health service received by the individual and does not include any amount paid for a deductible or coinsurance.
 .
(b)
Application of amendment
The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to any reimbursement claim under section 1725 of such title submitted to the Department of Veterans Affairs for emergency treatment furnished on or after February 1, 2012, including any such claim submitted by a member of the certified class seeking relief in Wolfe v. McDonough, No. 18–6091 (U.S. Vet. App.).
(c)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
The terms  emergency treatment  and  health-plan contract  have the meanings given those terms in section 1725(f) of title 38, United States Code.
(2)
The term  reimbursement claim  includes any claim by a veteran for reimbursement of a copayment, deductible, coinsurance, or any other type of cost share for emergency treatment furnished to the veteran in a non-Department of Veterans Affairs facility and made by a veteran who had coverage under a health-plan contract, including any claim for the reasonable value of emergency treatment that was rejected or denied by the Department of Veterans Affairs, whether the rejection or denial was final or not.