H.R. 1725

(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on May 19, 2017. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

(Sec. 1) This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), within 180 days of enactment of this bill, to submit a report on the progress of the VA's Acceptable Clinical Evidence initiative in reducing the necessity for in-person disability examinations.

Such report shall include: (1) the number of claims eligible for the initiative, disaggregated by fiscal year; (2) the total number of claims eligible for the initiative that required a VA medical examiner to supplement the evidence with information obtained during a telephone interview with the claimant; (3) information on other VA initiatives to encourage the use of private medical evidence; (4) the anticipated impact on the time line and accuracy of processing claims if the VA were prohibited from requesting a private medical examination that is adequate for a claims decision; and (5) recommendations on how the VA can measure, track, and prevent the ordering of unnecessary medical examinations when a private examination has been administered.

(Sec. 2) The VA shall submit by March 1 of FY2018-FY2024 an annual report that includes for each VA regional office: (1) the number of times a veteran who submitted private medical evidence in support of a claim for compensation or pension was scheduled for an examination by VA personnel because the private medical evidence was determined to be unacceptable, (2) the most common reasons for such determinations, and (3) the types of disabilities for which claims were most commonly denied when private medical evidence was submitted.