Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 116 Part 4.djvu/164

 116 STAT. 2592 PUBLIC LAW 107-314—DEC. 2, 2002 Termination date. and effects of those initiatives on improving access to care by beneficiaries, improvements in the quality of care received by those beneficiaries, and efficiencies gained in deHvering services to those beneficiaries. "(ii) Other matters of interest, including recommendations from the Comptroller General for legislative improvements to the program. "(4) The program under this subsection shall terminate on September 30, 2007. " (e) GUIDELINES AND POLICIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF COORDINATION AND SHARING RECOMMENDATIONS, CONTRACTS, AND AGREEMENTS.—(1) To implement the recommendations made by the Committee under subsection (c)(2), as well as to carry out other health care contracts and agreements for coordination and sharing initiatives as they consider appropriate, the two Secretaries shall jointly issue guidelines and policy directives. Such guidelines and policies shall provide for coordination and sharing that— "(A) is consistent with the health care responsibilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs under this title and with the health care responsibilities of the Department of Defense under chapter 55 of title 10; "(B) will not adversely affect the range of services, the quality of care, or the established priorities for care provided by either Department; and "(C) will not reduce capacities in certain specialized programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs that the Secretary is required to maintain in accordance with section 1706(b) of this title. "(2) To facilitate the sharing and coordination of health care services between the two Departments, the two Secretaries shall jointly develop and implement guidelines for a standardized, uniform payment and reimbursement schedule for those services. Such schedule shall be implemented no later than October 1, 2003, and shall be revised periodically as necessary. The two Secretaries, following implementation of the schedule, may on a case-by-case basis waive elements of the schedule if they jointly agree that such a waiver is in the best interests of both Departments. "(3)(A) The guidelines established under paragraph (1) shall authorize the heads of individual Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities and service regions to enter into health care resources coordination and sharing agreements. "(B) Under any such agreement, an individual who is a primary beneficiary of one Department may be provided health care, as provided in the agreement, at a facility or in the service region of the other Department that is a party to the sharing agreement. "(C) Each such agreement shall identify the health care resources to be shared. "(D) Each such agreement shall provide, and shall specify procedures designed to ensure, that the availability of direct health care to individuals who are not primary beneficiaries of the providing Department is (i) on a referral basis from the facility or service region of the other Department, and (ii) does not (as determined by the head of the providing facility or region) adversely affect the range of services, the quality of care, or the established priorities for care provided to the primary beneficiaries of the providing Department.

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