HouseH.R. 10037119th Congress
Virtual-Based Opioid Treatment for Veterans Act
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10037 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10037
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot
program to expand access to virtual-based opioid treatment for covered
veterans, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 3, 2026
Ms. Ross (for herself, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, and Mrs. Miller of
West Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot
program to expand access to virtual-based opioid treatment for covered
veterans, 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 ``Virtual-Based Opioid Treatment for
Veterans Act''.
SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PROGRAM TO EXPAND ACCESS
TO VIRTUAL-BASED OPIOID TREATMENT FOR COVERED VETERANS.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
establish and carry out a pilot program on expanding access to virtual-
based opioid treatment for covered veterans. Under the pilot program,
the Secretary shall--
(1) conduct outreach to covered veterans and the families
of covered veterans with respect to options for virtual-based
opioid treatment furnished through the Veterans Community Care
Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs established and
operated under section 1703 of title 38, United States Code;
(2) develop referral networks for virtual-based opioid
treatment options for covered veterans that are designed around
overcoming barriers associated with opioid treatment;
(3) create a referral pipeline for covered veterans into
these virtual-based opioid treatment programs, assisted by a
national public awareness campaign around these treatment
programs, as a supplement to existing Department of Veterans
Affairs direct care programs;
(4) ensure that clinicians of the Veterans Health
Administration and peer-support specialists are aware of
community care network-associated virtual-based opioid
treatment programs for patients experiencing barriers to the
access of direct care provided by the Department of Veterans
Affairs; and
(5) launch an interagency task-force with covered
Secretaries to ensure a coordinated, whole-of-Government
approach dedicated to ensuring cross-agency integration of the
pilot program.
(b) Study and Report.--
(1) In general.--As part of the pilot program, the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry out a study on the
societal impact of barriers to treatment for substance use
disorder and submit to the appropriate agency heads and
congressional committees a report on such study. Such report
shall include--
(A) a description of the findings of such study;
and
(B) recommendations of the Secretary with respect
to incorporating virtual-based opioid treatment models
with proven success in overcoming such barriers.
(2) Annual update.--Not later than 1 year after the date on
which the Secretary submits the report under paragraph (1), and
on an annual basis thereafter until the opioid crisis is no
longer deemed a public health emergency, the Secretary shall
update the report under paragraph (1) and submit to the
appropriate agency heads and congressional committees a revised
report that includes a summary of the progress of the pilot
program toward resolving and overcoming the treatment barriers
identified in the study under paragraph (1).
(c) Sunset.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out the
pilot program under this section shall terminate on the date
that is 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) Extension.--If the Secretary determines the pilot
program is effective in improving health-related outcomes for
covered veterans in receipt of care under the pilot program,
the Secretary may extend such authority for such period as the
Secretary determines appropriate.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``appropriate agency heads and congressional
committees'' means--
(A) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(B) the Secretary of Defense;
(C) the Attorney General of the United States;
(D) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the
Senate;
(E) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House
of Representatives;
(F) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions of the Senate; and
(G) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives.
(2) The term ``barriers'' means barriers to the access of
traditional, in-person medication-assisted opioid treatment, as
defined by the Centers for Disease Control or the Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
(3) The term ``covered Secretaries'' means--
(A) the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
acting through the Assistant Secretary for Mental
Health and Substance Abuse;
(B) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, acting
through the Under Secretary for Health;
(C) the Secretary of Defense, acting through the
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs; and
(D) the Attorney General, acting through the
Director for the Health Services Division of the
Federal Bureau of Prisons.
(4) The term ``covered veteran'' means a veteran who is
enrolled in the system of annual patient enrollment established
and operated under section 1705 of title 38, United States
Code.
(5) The term ``virtual-based opioid treatment'' means
treatment programs under the Veterans Community Care Program of
the Department of Veterans Affairs that--
(A) incorporate same-visit, same-clinician
behavioral counseling and medication-assisted treatment
in each visit;
(B) are conducted entirely through telemedicine or
telehealth;
(C) are from licensed, board-certified psychiatric
clinicians whose practices possess Drug Enforcement
Administration licenses authorizing medication-assisted
treatment; and
(D) meet outcome-based eligibility benchmarks, such
as on minimum thresholds for patient retention,
toxicology compliance, patient-reported outcomes, and
reduction in emergency department utilization or
escalation of care, as determined by the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the covered
Secretaries.
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