Reimbursement for Emergency Treatment

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is finalizing, with some changes, an interim final rule that amended its medical regulations concerning payment or reimbursement for emergency treatment for non-service-connected conditions at non-VA (community) facilities. This final rule responds to public comments received on the interim final rule and amends VA's emergency treatment regulations to authorize payment or reimbursement for coinsurance, temporarily waive the timely filing requirements for veterans affected by the interim final rule, and authorize payment or reimbursement for emergency transportation associated with emergency treatment when VA has paid for the emergency treatment using a separate authority. Because the change to Sec. 17.1004 was not addressed in the Supplementary Information section of the interim final rule, VA believes the public should have an opportunity to comment on the change. Therefore, a 60-day comment period to address this single topic will be provided.