38 U.S.C. § 8102 — Acquisition of medical facilities

Page 1298 TITLE 38—VETERANS’ BENEFITS § 8102 1991—Pub. L. 102–40 renumbered section 5001 of this title as this section. Par. (3). Pub. L. 102–83 substituted ‘‘Secretary’’ for ‘‘Administrator’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 96–22, title III, § 302, June 13, 1979, 93 Stat. 62, provided that: ‘‘(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this sec- tion, the amendments made by section 301 [enacting this subchapter, redesignating sections 5011 to 5014 of this title as sections 5021 to 5024 [now 8121 to 8124], re- spectively, and amending section 5022 [now 8122] of this title as so redesignated] shall take effect on October 1, 1979. ‘‘(b)(1) The amendments made by section 301 shall not apply with respect to the acquisition, construction, or alteration of any medical facility (as defined in section 5001(3) [now 8101(3)] of title 38, United States Code, as amended by section 301(a) of this Act) if such acquisi- tion, construction, or alteration (not including ex- change) was approved before October 1, 1979, by the President. ‘‘(2) The provisions of [former] section 5007(a) of title 38, United States Code, as amended by section 301(a) of this Act, shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [June 13, 1979].’’ § 8102. Acquisition of medical facilities (a) The Secretary shall provide medical facili- ties for veterans entitled to hospital, nursing home, or domiciliary care or medical services under this title. (b) No medical facility may be constructed or otherwise acquired or altered except in accord- ance with the provisions of this subchapter. (c) In carrying out this subchapter, the Sec- retary— (1) shall provide for the construction and ac- quisition of medical facilities in a manner that results in the equitable distribution of such facilities throughout the United States, taking into consideration the comparative ur- gency of the need for the services to be pro- vided in the case of each particular facility; and (2) shall give due consideration to excellence of architecture and design. (d) In considering the need for any project for the construction, alteration, or acquisition (other than by exchange) of a medical facility which is expected to involve a total expenditure of more than $2,000,000, the Secretary shall give consideration to the sharing of health-care re- sources with the Department of Defense under section 8111 of this title as an alternative to all or part of such project. (Added Pub. L. 96–22, title III, § 301(a), June 13, 1979, 93 Stat. 55, § 5002; amended Pub. L. 99–576, title II, § 221(a), Oct. 28, 1986, 100 Stat. 3259; re- numbered § 8102 and amended Pub. L. 102–40, title IV, § 402(b)(1), (d)(1), May 7, 1991, 105 Stat. 238, 239; Pub. L. 102–54, § 14(f)(2), June 13, 1991, 105 Stat. 287; Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(b)(1), (2)(E), Aug. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 404, 405.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1991—Pub. L. 102–40, § 402(b)(1), renumbered section 5002 of this title as this section. Subsecs. (a), (c). Pub. L. 102–83 substituted ‘‘Sec- retary’’ for ‘‘Administrator’’. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 102–83 substituted ‘‘Secretary’’ for ‘‘Administrator’’. Pub. L. 102–54 amended subsec. (d) as in effect imme- diately before the enactment of Pub. L. 102–40 by sub- stituting ‘‘section 5011’’ for ‘‘section 5001’’. Pub. L. 102–40, § 402(d)(1), amended subsec. (d), as amended by Pub. L. 102–54, by substituting ‘‘8111’’ for ‘‘5011’’. See above. 1986—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 99–576 added subsec. (d). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 1, 1979, but not applicable with respect to the acquisition, construction, or alteration of any medical facilities if the acquisition, construc- tion, or alteration (not including exchange) was ap- proved by the President before Oct. 1, 1979, see section 302 of Pub. L. 96–22, set out as a note under section 8101 of this title. § 8103. Authority to construct and alter, and to acquire sites for, medical facilities (a) Subject to section 8104 of this title, the Secretary— (1) may construct or alter any medical facil- ity and may acquire, by purchase, lease, con- demnation, donation, exchange, or otherwise, such land or interests in land as the Secretary considers necessary for use as the site for such construction or alteration; (2) may acquire, by purchase, lease, con- demnation, donation, exchange, or otherwise, any facility (including the site of such facil- ity) that the Secretary considers necessary for use as a medical facility; and (3) in order to assure compliance with sec- tion 8110(a)(2) of this title, in the case of any outpatient medical facility for which it is pro- posed to lease space and for which a qualified lessor and an appropriate leasing arrangement are available, shall execute a lease for such fa- cility within 12 months after funds are made available for such purpose. (b) Whenever the Secretary considers it to be in the interest of the United States to construct a new medical facility to replace an existing medical facility, the Secretary (1) may demolish the existing facility and use the site on which it is located for the site of the new medical facil- ity, or (2) if in the judgment of the Secretary it is more advantageous to construct such medical facility on a different site in the same locality, may exchange such existing facility and the site of such existing facility for the different site. (c) Whenever the Secretary determines that any site acquired for the construction of a med- ical facility is not suitable for that purpose, the Secretary may exchange such site for another site to be used for that purpose or may sell such site. (d)(1) The Secretary may provide for the ac- quisition of not more than three facilities for the provision of outpatient services or nursing home care through lease-purchase arrangements on real property under the jurisdiction of the Department of Veterans Affairs. (2)(A) In carrying out this subsection and not- withstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary may lease, with or without compensa-