38 U.S.C. § 1728 — Reimbursement of certain medical ex-

Page 459 TITLE 38—VETERANS’ BENEFITS § 1728 fect on the date upon which final regulations imple- menting such section take effect.’’ § 1726. Reimbursement for loss of personal ef- fects by natural disaster The Secretary shall, under regulations which the Secretary shall prescribe, reimburse vet- erans in Department hospitals and domiciliaries for any loss of personal effects sustained by fire, earthquake, or other natural disaster while such effects were stored in designated locations in Department hospitals or domiciliaries. (Pub. L. 85–857, Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1144, § 627; Pub. L. 93–82, title I, § 105, Aug. 2, 1973, 87 Stat. 183; Pub. L. 94–581, title II, § 210(a)(12), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2863; renumbered § 1726 and amend- ed Pub. L. 102–83, §§ 4(a)(3), (4), (b)(1), (2)(E), 5(a), Aug. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 404–406.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS Prior section 1726, Pub. L. 85–857, Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1197, provided for control by agencies of United States, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 89–358, § 3(a)(3), Mar. 3, 1966, 80 Stat. 20. See section 3689 of this title. AMENDMENTS 1991—Pub. L. 102–83, § 5(a), renumbered section 626 of this title as this section. Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted ‘‘Sec- retary’’ for ‘‘Administrator’’ in two places. Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(a)(3), (4), substituted ‘‘Department’’ for ‘‘Veterans’ Administration’’ in two places. 1976—Pub. L. 94–581 substituted ‘‘the Administrator shall prescribe’’ for ‘‘he shall prescribe’’. 1973—Pub. L. 93–82 substituted ‘‘natural disaster’’ for ‘‘fire’’ in section catchline and extended reimburse- ment provisions to earthquake and other natural disas- ters also. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1976 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 94–581 effective Oct. 21, 1976, see section 211 of Pub. L. 94–581, set out as a note under section 111 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1973 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 93–82 effective Jan. 1, 1971, see section 501 of Pub. L. 93–82, set out as a note under sec- tion 1701 of this title. § 1727. Persons eligible under prior law Persons who have a status which would, under the laws in effect on December 31, 1957, entitle them to the medical services, hospital and domi- ciliary care, and other benefits, provided for in this chapter, but who do not meet the service re- quirements contained in this chapter, shall be entitled to such benefits notwithstanding failure to meet such service requirements. (Pub. L. 85–857, Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1144, § 627; Pub. L. 94–581, title II, § 202(m), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2856; renumbered § 1727 Pub. L. 102–83, § 5(a), Aug. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 406.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1991—Pub. L. 102–83 renumbered section 627 of this title as this section. 1976—Pub. L. 94–581 substituted ‘‘1957’’ for ‘‘1958’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1976 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 94–581 effective Oct. 21, 1976, see section 211 of Pub. L. 94–581, set out as a note under section 111 of this title. § 1728. Reimbursement of certain medical ex- penses (a) The Secretary shall, under such regula- tions as the Secretary prescribes, reimburse vet- erans eligible for hospital care or medical serv- ices under this chapter for the customary and usual charges of emergency treatment (includ- ing travel and incidental expenses under the terms and conditions set forth in section 111 of this title) for which such veterans have made payment, from sources other than the Depart- ment, where such emergency treatment was ren- dered to such veterans in need thereof for any of the following: (1) An adjudicated service-connected dis- ability. (2) A non-service-connected disability associ- ated with and held to be aggravating a service- connected disability. (3) Any disability of a veteran if the veteran has a total disability permanent in nature from a service-connected disability. (4) Any illness, injury, or dental condition of a veteran who— (A) is a participant in a vocational reha- bilitation program (as defined in section 3101 of this title); and (B) is medically determined to have been in need of care or treatment to make pos- sible the veteran’s entrance into a course of training, or prevent interruption of a course of training, or hasten the return to a course of training which was interrupted because of such illness, injury, or dental condition. (b) In any case where reimbursement would be in order under subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary may, in lieu of reimbursing such vet- eran, make payment of the reasonable value of emergency treatment directly— (1) to the hospital or other health facility furnishing the emergency treatment; or (2) to the person or organization making such expenditure on behalf of such veteran. (c) No veteran described in subsection (a) may be held liable for payment for emergency treat- ment described in such subsection if— (1) a claim for direct payment was submitted by an individual or entity under subsection (b)(2); and (2) such claim was submitted after a dead- line established by the Secretary for purposes of this section due to— (A) an administrative error made by the individual or entity, such as submission of the claim to the wrong Federal agency or submission of the claim after the deadline; or (B) an administrative error made by the Department, such as misplacement of a paper claim or deletion of an electronic claim. Page 460 TITLE 38—VETERANS’ BENEFITS § 1729 (d) In this section, the term ‘‘emergency treat- ment’’ has the meaning given such term in sec- tion 1725(h)(1) of this title. (Added Pub. L. 93–82, title I, § 106(a), Aug. 2, 1973, 87 Stat. 183, § 628; amended Pub. L. 94–581, title II, §§ 202(n), 210(a)(13), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2856, 2863; Pub. L. 96–151, title II, § 201(d), Dec. 20, 1979, 93 Stat. 1093; Pub. L. 101–237, title II, § 202(a), Dec. 18, 1989, 103 Stat. 2066; Pub. L. 102–54, § 14(b)(14), June 13, 1991, 105 Stat. 284; renum- bered § 1728 and amended Pub. L. 102–83, §§ 4(a)(3), (4), (b)(1), (2)(E), 5(a), (c)(1), Aug. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 404–406; Pub. L. 110–387, title IV, § 402(b), Oct. 10, 2008, 122 Stat. 4123; Pub. L. 117–328, div. U, title I, § 142(b), (c)(3), Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5424; Pub. L. 117–333, § 3(e)(3)(B)(i), Jan. 5, 2023, 136 Stat. 6128.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2023—Subsec. (a)(4)(A). Pub. L. 117–333 substituted ‘‘section 3101 of’’ for ‘‘section 3101(9) of’’. 2022—Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 117–328 added subsec. (c), redesignated former subsec. (c) as (d) and sub- stituted ‘‘section 1725(h)(1)’’ for ‘‘section 1725(f)(1)’’. 2008—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 110–387, § 402(b)(1), added subsec. (a) and struck out former subsec. (a) which au- thorized the Secretary to reimburse veterans entitled to hospital care or medical services for the reasonable value of such care or services for which such veterans made payment from sources other than the Department under certain conditions. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 110–387, § 402(b)(2), substituted ‘‘emergency treatment’’ for ‘‘care or services’’ in intro- ductory provisions and in par. (1). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 110–387, § 402(b)(3), added subsec. (c). 1991—Pub. L. 102–83, § 5(a), renumbered section 628 of this title as this section. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted ‘‘Secretary’’ for ‘‘Administrator’’ in two places in in- troductory provisions. Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(a)(3), (4), substituted ‘‘Department’’ for ‘‘Veterans’ Administration’’ in introductory provi- sions and in par. (3). Subsec. (a)(2)(D). Pub. L. 102–83, § 5(c)(1), substituted ‘‘3101(9)’’ for ‘‘1501(9)’’. Pub. L. 102–54 substituted ‘‘(i) is’’ for ‘‘is (i)’’. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted ‘‘Secretary’’ for ‘‘Administrator’’ in introductory pro- visions. 1989—Subsec. (a)(2)(D). Pub. L. 101–237 substituted ‘‘(i) a participant in a vocational rehabilitation program (as defined in section 1501(9) of this title), and (ii)’’ for ‘‘found to be (i) in need of vocational rehabilitation under chapter 31 of this title and for whom an objective had been selected or (ii) pursuing a course of vocational rehabilitation training and’’. 1979—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 96–151 substituted provi- sions relating to travel and incidental expenses for pro- visions relating to necessary travel. 1976—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94–581 substituted ‘‘as the Administrator shall prescribe’’ for ‘‘as he shall pre- scribe’’ in provisions preceding par. (1), substituted ‘‘delay’’ for ‘‘they’’ in par. (1), and substituted ‘‘make possible such veteran’s entrance’’ for ‘‘make possible his entrance’’ in par. (2)(D)(ii). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1989 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 101–237, title II, § 202(b), Dec. 18, 1989, 103 Stat. 2067, provided that: ‘‘The amendment made by sub- section (a) [amending this section] shall apply with re- spect to hospital care and medical services received on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 18, 1989].’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1979 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 96–151 effective Jan. 1, 1980, see section 206 of Pub. L. 96–151, set out as a note under section 111 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1976 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 94–581 effective Oct. 21, 1976, see section 211 of Pub. L. 94–581, set out as a note under section 111 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Jan. 1, 1971, see section 501 of Pub. L. 93–82, set out as an Effective Date of 1973 Amend- ment note under section 1701 of this title. REIMBURSEMENT OF AMBULANCE COST FOR CARE FOR CERTAIN RURAL VETERANS Pub. L. 118–210, title I, § 143, Jan. 2, 2025, 138 Stat. 2747, provided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall pay, or reimburse a covered veteran for, the cost of transporting the veteran by ambulance, including air ambulance, from a covered location to a provider of the Department of Veterans Affairs, a non-Department pro- vider, or the nearest hospital that can meet the needs of the veteran (including a hospital that compacts with the Indian Health Service) for covered care. ‘‘(b) AMOUNT COVERED.—The maximum cumulative amount covered under this section for a covered vet- eran is $46,000. ‘‘(c) SUNSET.—This section shall cease to be effective on September 30, 2026. ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered care’ means care for a vet- eran eligible for care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs under title 38, United States Code, or any other law administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, even if the care associated with the transport described in subsection (a) is not author- ized by the Department. ‘‘(2) The term ‘covered location’ means a location that is— ‘‘(A) in a State that is 100 miles or more from the nearest medical center of the Department of Vet- erans Affairs; and ‘‘(B) in an area rated as a 10 or higher under the rural-urban commuting areas coding system of the Department of Agriculture. ‘‘(3) The term ‘covered veteran’ means a veteran who— ‘‘(A) has a service-connected disability rated by the Secretary as between 0 and 30 percent disabling; ‘‘(B) is not eligible for payments or reimburse- ments for beneficiary travel or other transpor- tation under the laws administered by the Sec- retary of Veterans Affairs, other than under this section; and ‘‘(C) is not entitled to care or services under a non-Department of Veterans Affairs health-plan contract. ‘‘(4) The term ‘health-plan contract’ has the mean- ing given that term in section 1725 of title 38, United States Code. ‘‘(5) The term ‘service-connected’ has the meaning given that term in section 101 of such title.’’ § 1729. Recovery by the United States of the cost of certain care and services (a)(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, in any case in which the United States is re- quired by law to furnish or pay for care or serv- ices under this chapter for a non-service-con- nected disability described in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the United States has the right