Sec. 401. Pilot program on providing nurse advice line for veterans in rural and highly rural areas
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Commencing not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a two-year pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of implementing in rural areas and highly rural areas with a large percentage of veterans a nurse advice line to furnish to veterans medical advice, appointment and cancellation services, and information on the availability of benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. In carrying out the pilot program under subsection
(a)the Secretary shall establish a nurse advice line that— operates free of charge; is based on, and improves upon, the nurse advice line implemented by the Department of Defense for beneficiaries under the TRICARE program (as defined in section 1072(5) of title 10, United States Code); complies with call center requirements set forth by URAC; operates in close consultation with the Secretary to— establish a process through which the eligibility of a caller for the nurse advice line can be validated; allow eligibility and benefit information in possession of the Department of Veterans Affairs to be shared with the nurse advice line; and allow the nurse advice line to connect with appropriate technology and personnel of the Department for purposes of scheduling appointments for the receipt of health care from the Department; and maintains quality controls to ensure that calls are answered by a customer service representative within 30 seconds and with an abandonment rate of less than 5 percent. The nurse advice line established under the pilot program shall provide an array of services to veterans, including the following: Medical advice from licensed registered nurses who assess the symptoms of the caller using a proprietary clinical algorithm that— has been shown in peer-reviewed medical journals to most closely emulate the clinical decisionmaking processes of physicians; and triages the caller to the appropriate venue at which the caller may receive the health care that they need. Information to address basic questions regarding the eligibility of the caller for benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the availability of those benefits. Use of an appointment clerk to facilitate the scheduling, rescheduling, and cancellation of appointments for health care from the Department. Not later than 120 days after the date of the completion of the pilot program, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress a report on the findings of the Secretary with respect to the pilot program. The report required by paragraph
(1)shall include the following: A description of the veterans who have benefitted from advice through the nurse advice line under the pilot program, including the locations of the veterans served. A description of any impediments to the Secretary in carrying out the pilot program. A description of any impediments encountered by individuals in seeking advice or services through the nurse advice line under the pilot program. An assessment of the feasibility and advisability of expanding the pilot program to include more veterans. In this section: The term highly rural area means an area located in a county or similar community that has less than seven individuals residing in that county or community per square mile. The term rural area means an area that is not an urbanized area or a highly rural area. The term urbanized area has the meaning given that term by the Director of the Bureau of the Census.