REIMBURSEMENT OF MEDICAL EXPENSES OF VETERANS LOCATED IN ALASKA.

SEC. 211. REIMBURSEMENT OF MEDICAL EXPENSES OF VETERANS LOCATED IN ALASKA. (a) Preservation of Current Reimbursement Rates.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary shall, for purposes of reimbursing veterans in Alaska for medical expenses under section 1728 of title 38, United States Code, during the one-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, use the fee-for-service payment schedule in effect for such purposes on July 31, 1999, rather than the Participating Physician Fee Schedule under the Medicare program. (b) Report.—(1)Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall jointly submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report and recommendation on the use of the Participating Physician Fee Schedule under the Medicare program as a means of calculating reimbursement rates for medical 113 STAT. 1571 expenses of veterans located in Alaska under section 1728 of title 38, United States Code. (2) The report shall— (A) assess the differences between health care costs in Alaska and health care costs in the continental United States; (B) describe any differences between the costs of providing health care in Alaska and the reimbursement rates for the provision of health care under the Participating Physician Fee Schedule; and (C) assess the effects on health care for veterans in Alaska of implementing the Participating Physician Fee Schedule as a means of calculating reimbursement rates for medical expenses of veterans located in Alaska under section 1728 of title 38, United States Code.