HF 215 (LSB 1764YH (4) 90)

HOUSE FILE 215

BY  BROWN-POWERS, CROKEN, KRESSIG, STAED, BAGNIEWSKI, GJERDE, AMOS, MATSON, KURTH, WILSON, EHLERT, WILBURN, and STECKMAN

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to veterans health care services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  35A.19  Veterans case manager.
   1.  For the purposes of this section:
   a.  “Health care facility” means a hospital as defined in section 135B.1, or a health care facility as defined in section 144D.1.
   b.  “Veterans health care facility” means a health care facility operated by the veterans health administration.
   2.  A veterans case manager shall be appointed by the director, in consultation with the director of the department of inspections and appeals and the director of health and human services, to assist veterans in obtaining the greatest degree of health care and health care benefits available and to promote policies that would benefit veterans seeking health care. The case manager shall serve at the pleasure of, and report directly to, the director.
   3.  The veterans case manager shall perform the following duties:
   a.  Act as an intermediary between health care facilities and veterans health care facilities.
   b.  Assist health care facilities in the transfer of veterans to veterans health care facilities.
   c.  Provide information to veterans and health care facilities regarding health care services available to veterans.
   d.  Apply for, receive, and administer federal aids, grants, and gifts relating to inpatient health care services for veterans.
   e.  Work with county veteran affairs offices to inform veterans of benefits that may be available to veterans for health care services.
   f.  Recommend to the department of inspections and appeals standards and courses of study that fulfill the requirements of section 272C.2C, subsection 1A.
   g.  Ensure that veterans are treated by health care facilities with at least the same level of care as nonveterans.
   h.  Encourage physicians, nurses, and other individuals working in health care who have military experience to work in Iowa.
   i.  Inform Iowa residents who are veterans or currently serving in the military about education, benefits, and support available to obtain a degree or certification that would allow the person to become a health care worker.
   j.  Collaborate with health care facilities in identifying, upon a person’s admission to a health care facility, the person’s eligibility for benefits through the United States department of veterans affairs, including prescription drug benefit eligibility, and programs with a focus on veterans.
   k.  Collaborate with the department of inspections and appeals to identify any barriers to veterans in accessing prescription drug benefits designated for veterans.
   l.  Assist health care facilities in amending rules and procedures for medication administration to allow veterans greater access to prescription drug benefits.
    Sec. 2.  Section 135B.1, Code 2023, is amended by adding the following new subsections:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  5.  “Veteran” means the same as defined in section 35.1.
   NEW SUBSECTION.  6.  “Veterans case manager” means the same as described in the provisions of section 35A.19.
    Sec. 3.  Section 135B.7, Code 2023, is amended by adding the following new subsections:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  6.  The department shall adopt rules requiring hospitals, upon identifying a person requiring inpatient health services as a veteran, to establish and implement protocols providing for all of the following:
   a.  Contacting the veterans case manager regarding the veteran’s admission.
   b.  Identifying whether the veteran is at risk for causing harm to the veteran’s self or others.
   c.  Holding a veteran experiencing or at risk of experiencing a mental health crisis for a period of not less than twenty-three hours unless a court order dictates otherwise or the patient is allowed to transfer to a veterans health care facility as defined in section 35A.19.
   d.  Requiring the hospital to evaluate the veteran’s mental stability to determine if the veteran is a threat to the safety of the veteran’s self or others prior to the veteran’s discharge.
   e.  Preventing the hospital from treating a veteran with less or different care than nonveteran patients solely because of a person’s veteran status.
   NEW SUBSECTION.  7.  The department, in consultation with the department of veterans affairs, shall adopt rules that provide that if a person is eligible for benefits through the United States department of veterans affairs or any other third-party payor, the payor of last resort for reimbursement to a hospital is the medical assistance program established under chapter 249A. The rules shall also require the hospital to request information from a person or a person’s personal representative regarding the person’s veteran status and to report to the veterans case manager only the names of persons identified as potential veterans along with the names of their spouses and any dependents. Information reported by the hospital shall be verified by the department. This subsection shall not apply to the admission of a person for outpatient health services.
   NEW SUBSECTION.  8.  The department shall adopt rules that require hospitals to collaborate with the veterans case manager to identify barriers veterans may face in obtaining prescription drug benefits, and require, upon the admission of a person eligible for benefits through the United States department of veterans affairs to a hospital, the hospital to cooperate with the veterans case manager to assess the extent for which the person is eligible for prescription drug benefits.
    Sec. 4.  Section 272C.2C, Code 2023, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  1A.  The board of medicine, board of dentistry, board of physician assistants, board of podiatry, and board of nursing shall establish rules requiring a person licensed pursuant to section 148.3, 148C.3, 149.3, or 152.6 or chapter 153 to receive continuing education credits regarding the treatment of veterans, as defined in section 35.1, as a condition of license renewal. Each licensing board, in consultation with the veterans case manager established in section 35A.19, shall have the authority to determine how often a licensee must receive continuing education credits.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to veterans health care services.
   The bill creates the position of veterans case manager within the department of veterans affairs. The veterans case manager shall be appointed by the executive director of the Iowa department of veterans affairs in consultation with the director of the department of inspections and appeals and the director of the department of health and human services, to assist veterans in obtaining the greatest degree of health care and health care benefits available and to promote policies that would benefit veterans seeking health care. The veterans case manager shall serve at the pleasure of, and report directly to, the executive director of the department of veterans affairs. The bill specifies the duties of a veterans case manager.
   The bill requires the department of inspections and appeals to adopt rules that require hospitals, upon identifying a person admitted to the hospital as a veteran, to contact the veterans case manager, assess whether the veteran is a danger to the veteran’s self or others, hold the veteran for 23 hours if that person is experiencing or at risk of experiencing a mental health crisis, assess whether the veteran is a danger to the veteran’s self or others prior to discharging the veteran, and prevent the use of less or different care than nonveterans solely because of a person’s veteran status.
   The bill requires the department of inspections and appeals, in consultation with the department of veterans affairs, to adopt rules that provide that if a person is eligible for benefits through the United States department of veterans affairs or any other third-party payor, specifying that the payor of last resort for reimbursement to a hospital is the medical assistance program established in Code chapter 249A. The rules shall also require the hospital to request information from a person or a person’s personal representative regarding the person’s veteran status and to report to the veterans case manager only the names of persons identified as potential veterans along with the names of their spouses and any dependents. Information reported by the hospital shall be verified by the department. These rules shall not apply to the admission of a person for outpatient health services.
   The bill requires the department of inspections and appeals to adopt rules that require hospitals to collaborate with the veterans case manager to identify barriers veterans may face in obtaining prescription drug benefits, and require, upon the admission of a person eligible for benefits through the United States department of veterans affairs to a hospital, the hospital to cooperate with the veterans case manager to assess the extent for which the person is eligible for prescription drug benefits.
   The bill requires the board of medicine, board of dentistry, board of physician assistants, board of podiatry, and board of nursing to establish rules requiring a person licensed under those boards to receive continuing education credits regarding the treatment of veterans as a condition of license renewal. Each licensing board, in consultation with the veterans case manager, shall have the authority to determine how often a licensee must receive continuing education credits.