§ 1705.
(a)
In managing the provision of hospital care and medical services under
section 1710(a) of this title, the Secretary, in accordance with regulations the Secretary shall prescribe, shall establish and operate a system of annual patient enrollment. The Secretary shall manage the enrollment of veterans in accordance with the following priorities, in the order listed:
(1)
Veterans with service-connected disabilities rated 50 percent or greater and veterans who were awarded the medal of honor under section 7271, 8291, or 9271 of title 10 or section 491
1
See References in Text note below.
of title 14.
(2)
Veterans with service-connected disabilities rated 30 percent or 40 percent.
(3)
Veterans who are former prisoners of war or who were awarded the Purple Heart, veterans with service-connected disabilities rated 10 percent or 20 percent, and veterans described in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of
section 1710(a)(2) of this title.
(4)
Veterans who are in receipt of increased pension based on a need of regular aid and attendance or by reason of being permanently housebound and other veterans who are catastrophically disabled.
(5)
Veterans not covered by paragraphs (1) through (4) who are unable to defray the expenses of necessary care as determined under
section 1722(a) of this title.
(7)
Veterans described in
section 1710(a)(3) of this title who are eligible for treatment as a low-income family under section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (
42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)) for the area in which such veterans reside, regardless of whether such veterans are treated as single person families under paragraph (3)(A) of such section 3(b) or as families under paragraph (3)(B) of such section 3(b).
(b)
In the design of an enrollment system under subsection (a), the Secretary—
(1)
shall ensure that the system will be managed in a manner to ensure that the provision of care to enrollees is timely and acceptable in quality;
(2)
may establish additional priorities within each priority group specified in subsection (a), as the Secretary determines necessary; and
(3)
may provide for exceptions to the specified priorities where dictated by compelling medical reasons.
(Added [Pub. L. 104–262, title I, § 104(a)(1)], Oct. 9, 1996, [110 Stat. 3182]; amended [Pub. L. 106–117, title I, § 112(2)], Nov. 30, 1999, [113 Stat. 1556]; [Pub. L. 107–135, title II, § 202(a)], Jan. 23, 2002, [115 Stat. 2457]; [Pub. L. 107–330, title III, § 308(g)(4)], Dec. 6, 2002, [116 Stat. 2828]; [Pub. L. 111–163, title V, § 512], May 5, 2010, [124 Stat. 1164]; [Pub. L. 114–315, title VI, § 603(a)(1)], Dec. 16, 2016, [130 Stat. 1570]; [Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 809(n)(1)(A)], Aug. 13, 2018, [132 Stat. 1843].)