Medical providers outside of the VA system bill and receive payment from the VA for services provided to veterans. Too often, medical providers bill and receive payment from TRICARE and the Centers for Medicare and Medical Services for the same services being paid for by the VA, resulting in a duplication of payment.
Rep. Elaine Luria has introduced the VA Preventing Duplicate Payments Act of 2022 to prevent duplicate payments for the same medical services by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Defense.
“Duplicative billing practices waste limited health care resources and limit the VA’s ability to provide the quality and accessible medical services that our veterans deserve,” Rep. Luria (D-VA-02) said. “My legislation will combat waste, cut through administrative red tape, and improve services for our veterans by streamlining the billing process between agencies. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure that bureaucracy and inefficiency no longer hinder the ability of our system to provide adequate health care services to veterans and their families.”
Luria’s legislation would help end duplicative payments by VA, TRICARE, and CMS for the same health care services by updating data sharing requirements and determining which agency should pay claims in situations where duplication exists. The bill explicitly allows the VA, CMS, and DOD to establish interagency policies and agreements to determine which agency is required to pay claims.
Luria’s legislation also permits the agencies to collect reclaim payments when duplication occurs.
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