H.R.2646

Extended funding for various veterans health facilities and programs and audits of private payers providing certain services to veterans provided for under the Veterans Health Care Facilities Capital Improvement Act of 2011, H.R. 2646 are about to become law.  Congress has passed and sent H.R. 2646 to President Obama for signature.

Among other things, H.R. 2646:

• Designates the VA telehealth clinic in Craig, Colorado, as the “Major William Edward Adams Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic.”
• Extends to December 31, 2018, specified authority for: (1) treatment, rehabilitation, and added services for seriously mentally ill and homeless veterans; (2) housing assistance for homeless veterans; and (3) the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans and (4) transfers of real property under the Secretary’s jurisdiction or control.
• Extends to September 30, 2020, the recovery audit program for certain fee basis and other medical services contracts concerning non-VA care and services for veterans and beneficiaries
• Eextends funding for construction at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers in Seattle, Washington and West Lost Angeles, California; and leases at various outpatient and community-based outpatient clinics.  
• Changes authorizations for certain previously authorized construction projects in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the Orlando, Florida area, Palo Alto, California, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and St. Louis, Missouri.
• Along with these funding extensions, H.R. 2646 also requires that requests for funding of  veteran medical facilities projects and leases sent to Congress include: (1) a detailed estimate of the total costs of the medical facility including the number of personnel and itemized costs for construction, activation, special purpose alteration, ancillary services, and equipment; and (2) data concerning demographics, workload, utilization, and operating costs over a 5-, 10-, and 20-year period.  For  a proposed new or replacement facility, funding requests also must include a detailed: (1) report of the consideration given to acquiring an existing facility by lease or purchase and to the sharing of health-care resources with the Department of Defense (DOD); and (2) total cost estimate and a cost-benefit comparison for each considered alternative to construction of the facility and an explanation of why the preferred alternative is the most effective means to achieve the stated project goals.

For Assistance or Additional Information

Nationally and internationally known for her knowledge and work on health and other employee benefit matters and engaging and informative presentations, attorney, author and policy advocate Cynthia Marcotte Stamer will help you prepare your plan and organization to cope with these and other challenges of understanding and coping with health care reform. 

Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) RPPT Employee Benefits & Other Compensation Arrangements, an ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits Council Representative, incoming ABA TIPS Employee Benefit Plan Committee Vice Chair, former ABA Health Law Section Managed Care & Insurance Interest Group Chair, past Southwest Benefits Association Board Member, Employee Benefit News Editorial Advisory Board Member, Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law and a widely published speaker and author,  Ms. Stamer has more than 24 years experience advising businesses, plans, fiduciaries, insurers and governments on health care, retirement, employment, insurance, :and tax program design, administration, defense and policy and related employment, insurance and health care matters.    Her experience includes extensive experience  advising insured and self-insured ERISA group medical and other plans,  Medicare and Medicaid Advantage plans, mini-med, high-deductible and other consumer driven medical, long-term care, occupational injury, ex-pat, association, fraternal benefit and other managed care and medical benefit plans and insurers, their service providers,  insurers,  sponsors, fiduciaries, technology providers and others.   A primary drafter of the Bolivian pension law, Ms. Stamer also has more than 30 years experience working on legislative and regulatory health care, pension, workforce, education and immigration reform matters including extensive work on the Pension Protection & Affordable Care Act, HIPAA, COBRA, state managed care and other  insurance and other laws.  In addition to her experience advising governments and others internationally about these matters, she  regularly advises and represents employers, employee benefit plans, insurers, health care and managed care providers and others about evolving laws and regulations and assists them in dealing with Congress, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor, Immigration and Customs, OCR, OIG, CMS and other HHS agenices, the FTC, the Justice  Department, state insruance and health departments, and others.

 A widely published author and popular speaker, Ms. also regularly publishes and speaks for a broad range of organizations  including American Bar Association, Aspen Publishers, World At Work, Benefits Magazine, Employee Benefit News, Spencer Publications, SHRM, the International Foundation, Solutions Law Press and many others.  She  currently or previously has served on the editorial advisory board of Employee Benefits News,  BNA Employee Benefits CDRolm and a wide range of other highly regarded publications.  Her insights on these and other matters have appeared in Managed Care Executive, Health Leaders, Private Payers News, the Wall Street Journal, various publications of  the Bureau of National Affairs, Aspen, Atlantic Information Serices, the Wall Street Journal, and many other industry and news publications.   In recognition of this extensive record of employee benefit experience and involvement, Ms. Stamer recently was selected to be inducted as a Fellow in the American  College of Employee Benefits Counsel.

You can learn more about Ms. Stamer and her experience, review some of her other training, speaking, publications and other resources, and register to receive future updates about developments on these and other concerns from Ms. Stamer here. For important information concerning this communication click here.

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