State Veterans Homes Inspection Simplification Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7747 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7747

To amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to streamline
the certification process for State Veterans Homes by allowing certain
facilities certified by the Department of Veterans Affairs to be deemed
 in compliance with specified Medicare and Medicaid requirements, and
                          for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 2, 2026

  Mr. Bergman (for himself, Mr. Suozzi, and Mr. Owens) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means,
and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Veterans'
Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to streamline
the certification process for State Veterans Homes by allowing certain
facilities certified by the Department of Veterans Affairs to be deemed
 in compliance with specified Medicare and Medicaid requirements, and
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``State Veterans Homes Inspection
Simplification Act''.

SEC. 2. DEEMING OF STATE VETERANS HOMES CERTIFIED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF
              VETERANS AFFAIRS AS MEETING MEDICARE CONDITIONS OF
              PARTICIPATION.

    (a) Medicare Deeming Authority.--Section 1819 of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395i-3) is amended by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
    ``(l) Special Rule for State Veterans Homes.--
            ``(1) Deemed compliance.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A State home (as defined in
                section 101 of title 38, United States Code) that is
                inspected and certified by the Department of Veterans
                Affairs (in this subsection referred to as the `VA') in
                accordance with standards approved by the Secretary
                shall be deemed to meet the requirements of subsections
                (b) through (i) of this section if the Secretary
                determines that the following requirements are met:
                            ``(i) The VA provides the Secretary with
                        documentation of inspection and certification,
                        which must include survey findings, statements
                        of deficiencies, and related corrective
                        actions.
                            ``(ii) Not less than once every 2 years,
                        the VA submits its State home survey standards
                        and inspection procedures for joint review with
                        the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to
                        confirm continued alignment with Medicare
                        Conditions of Participation, including
                        oversight methodologies.
                    ``(B) Requirements for approval of standards.--In
                approving standards under subparagraph (A), the
                Secretary shall--
                            ``(i) consult with the Secretary of
                        Veterans Affairs; and
                            ``(ii) ensure that the inspection and
                        certification process used by the VA, including
                        both standards and enforcement practices--
                                    ``(I) includes, as a minimum, the
                                survey protocols and enforcement
                                expectations of the Centers for
                                Medicare & Medicaid Services; and
                                    ``(II) upholds, at a minimum, the
                                same standards of resident care,
                                safety, transparency, and
                                accountability required under this
                                section.
            ``(2) Oversight and enforcement.--Nothing in paragraph (1)
        shall preclude the Secretary from doing any of the following:
                    ``(A) Conducting complaint investigations or
                targeted surveys of any State home.
                    ``(B) Imposing remedies under subsection (h),
                including civil monetary penalties or termination of
                participation under this title.
                    ``(C) Revoking deemed status under paragraph (1) if
                the VA certification process is found to be
                inconsistent with Federal standards of transparency,
                data quality, or enforcement.
            ``(3) Public reporting.--Survey and certification data from
        VA inspections deemed valid under this subsection shall be
        reported publicly through the Nursing Home Care Compare website
        under subsection (i) or another publicly accessible platform in
        a format determined by the Secretary, in consultation with the
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
            ``(4) Congressional notice.--Not later than 15 days after--
                    ``(A) approving standards under paragraph (1);
                    ``(B) revoking or suspending deemed status under
                paragraph (2); or
                    ``(C) identifying material non-alignment between VA
                inspection practices and Medicare Conditions of
                Participation;
        the Secretary shall submit written notice to the Committees on
        Veterans' Affairs and Energy and Commerce of the House of
        Representatives and the Committees on Veterans' Affairs and
        Finance of the Senate.''.
    (b) Medicaid Conforming Amendment.--Section 1919 of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396r) is amended by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
    ``(l) Special Rule for State Veterans Homes.--The provisions of
section 1819(l) shall apply with respect to a nursing facility that is
a State home (as defined in section 101 of title 38, United States
Code) and that is inspected and certified by the Department of Veterans
Affairs in the same manner and to the same extent as such provisions
apply under title XVIII.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the date that is 90 days after the date of enactment of this
Act.
    (d) Definition of Enforcement Expectations.--The term ``Enforcement
expectations'' means deficiency citations, corrective action plans, and
remedies in response to individual deficiencies or repeat-deficiency
rates that are as effective as or more effective than, and in lieu of,
those resulting from surveys conducted directly by the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services.

SEC. 3. ALIGNMENT OF DATA FOR PUBLIC REPORTING.

    (a) VA Survey Data on Nursing Home Care Compare.--The Secretary of
Health and Human Services shall coordinate with the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs to ensure that inspection findings, deficiency
statements, and quality metrics from Department of Veterans Affairs-
certified State homes (as defined in section 101 of title 38, United
States Code) are incorporated into the Nursing Home Care Compare
website (or a successor website), to the extent feasible and consistent
with section 1819(g)(5) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395i-
3(g)(5)), and in a manner consistent with the risk-adjustment and case-
mix methodologies otherwise used by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services for public reporting of nursing facility quality measures.
    (b) Harmonization of Survey Processes.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of Health
and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs, shall issue guidance to align certification and data reporting
processes to ensure consistency and transparency in the public
reporting of quality and compliance information for State homes (as so
defined).

SEC. 4. GAO REVIEW OF DEEMING AUTHORITY.

    Not later than 3 years after the effective date of this Act, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit a report to the
Congress evaluating--
            (1) the impact of deeming authority on survey efficiency
        and costs;
            (2) comparative enforcement outcomes between VA-conducted
        and CMS-conducted surveys;
            (3) quality of care and safety outcomes for residents of
        State Veterans Homes; and
            (4) any recommendations for legislative or administrative
        action.
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