Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Issues Report on Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Programs Reauthorization Act
Excerpts of the report follow:
Introduction
On
On
On
On
On
On
On
On
On
On
On
On
On
On
On
On
On
Committee Hearings
On
On
On
On
On
On
Committee Meeting
After reviewing the testimony from the foregoing hearings, the Committee met in open session on
*The Committee notes that the information outlined in this report was current as of the
Committee Bill Cost Estimate
In compliance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the
The cost estimate provided by CBO, setting forth a detailed breakdown of costs, follows:
Hon.
Chairman,
Dear Mr. Chairman: The
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is
Sincerely,
Director.
Enclosure.
S. 425--Veterans Homeless Programs, Caregiver Services, and Other Improvements Act of 2015
Summary: Enacting S. 425 would reduce benefits provided under certain education programs administered by the
In addition, S. 425 would make a number of changes to
Pay-as-you-go procedures apply because enacting the legislation would affect direct spending. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues. CBO estimates that enacting S. 425 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
S. 425 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would benefit public entities, including educational institutions and health care providers, that provide services to veterans. Any costs those entities might incur would be incurred as conditions of participating in a voluntary federal program.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated budgetary effect of S. 425 is shown in Table 1. The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 700 (veterans benefits and services).
Table 1.--Estimated Budgetary Effects of S.425, The Veterans Homeless Programs, Caregiver Services, and Other
Improvements Act of 2015
(TABLE OMITTED)
Note: Details do not add to totals because of rounding. aEnacting S.425 would have effects beyond 2020. CBO estimates that under the bill, direct spending would decrease by
Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that S. 425 will be enacted at the start of fiscal 2017, that the estimated amounts will be appropriated each year, and that outlays will follow historical spending patterns for affected programs.
Direct spending
S. 425 would reduce the amounts paid for certain education and rehabilitation benefits provided by
Reduced Housing Allowances. Under the Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33),
Table 2.--Estimate of the Effects of S.425 on Direct Spending
(TABLE OMITTED)
The
Based on current enrollment data, CBO estimates that about 800,000 people will use Chapter 33 benefits in 2017, and that the housing allowance per beneficiary will average about
About 27,000 disabled veterans enrolled in college, apprenticeship programs, or on-the-job training through
In
Transferred Education Benefits. Servicemembers who earn benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill can use those benefits themselves or transfer them to their dependents. Section 202 would modify the authorities under which servicemembers may make such transfers. On net, those changes would reduce direct spending by about
Housing Allowance. Section 202 would reduce by half the monthly housing allowance paid to children who use transferred benefits. That reduction would apply to benefits that are transferred to children180 days or more after the bill is enacted. Based on current payment levels and adjusting for the effect of section 502 as discussed above and for expected inflation, CBO estimates that the annual payment for the housing allowance under the Post-9/11 GI Bill will average about
Based on data from
Conditions for Transferring Benefits. Section 202 also would change the terms under which servicemembers may transfer Chapter 33 benefits to their spouses and children. Under current law, members must serve at least 6 years and agree to serve another 4 years to be eligible to transfer their benefits. Spouses are able to begin using those transferred benefits immediately, while children must wait until the member has completed 10 years of service. Under section 202, members would have to serve at least 10 years, and agree to serve an additional 2 years in order to transfer benefits. Spouses and children could begin using benefits as soon as they are transferred by the member.
CBO expects that those changes would cause some servicemembers who, under current law, would choose to transfer benefits, to instead leave the military and use their benefits themselves. Because servicemembers would have to wait four more years before committing to additional military service, they would have more opportunities to leave the armed forces. Also, spouses would have to wait an additional 4 years to use transferred benefits, somewhat reducing their value to the spouse. Finally, the length of service required from the member would increase from 10 years to 12 years.
Based on the rate at which personnel leave the military between their 6th and 10th years of service, CBO estimates that each year about 1,800 members who would have committed to additional service in order to transfer benefits under current law would, under this provision, leave the military and retain those benefits for their own use. That change would have several offsetting effects that would, on net, increase direct spending by
Increased costs of
Increased costs of
Decreased costs of
Decreased costs of
Decreased costs of
Restoration of Education Benefits. Section 201 would increase the education benefits that
Under current law,
Restoring benefit months would increase
On the basis of data from
Section 201 also would require
In
Credit for Time in Medical Care. Section 210 would allow the time a reservist serves on active duty while receiving medical care or undergoing a medical evaluation to count as qualifying service for accruing education benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill. To qualify for full benefits under Chapter 33, veterans must serve 36 months on active duty or receive a disability retirement. Reduced benefits, between 40 percent and 90 percent of the full benefit, are available to veterans who serve less than 36 months but at least 90 days.
On the basis of historical data from the
Based on personnel data from
Fry Scholarships. The Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship provides 36 months of education benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill to spouses and children of servicemembers who died on active duty at any time after
In 2014,
Medal of Honor Pensions. Effective 1 year from the date of enactment, section 102 would increase the special monthly pension rate paid to Congressional Medal of Honor recipients from
Spending subject to appropriation
S. 425 contains a number of provisions that would enhance the support services provided to homeless veterans. Other provisions would modify
Expansion of Caregivers Program. The Family Caregivers program provides stipends, health insurance, respite care, training, and other forms of support to caregivers of eligible veterans who are enrolled in the program. Eligible veterans are those who require assistance in daily activities such as bathing, eating, or grooming as a result of injuries incurred during military service on or after
Table 3.--Estimated Effects of S.425 on Spending Subject to Appropriation
(TABLE OMITTED)
Stage one of this provision would open eligibility for the Family Caregivers program to eligible veterans who were injured during service on or before
In 2015, costs for the Family Caregivers Program totaled
CBO's estimate of the cost of expanding the Caregivers program is based on the usage and average costs of the existing program, and the number of veterans with significant, service- connected disabilities in the cohorts that would be newly eligible. However, to account for the advanced age of the newly eligible veterans, our estimate reflects the following findings from a recent RAND study:1
1Ramchand, Rajeev,
Disabled veterans rely more heavily on assistance for daily activities as they age,
Older veterans tend to rely on older caregivers, and
Health care costs for caregivers increase with age.
For stage one, CBO estimates that about 20,000 additional veterans would benefit from the program in 2019, growing to roughly 44,000 by 2021. CBO expects that the youngest members of this cohort will be in their late 60s. After factoring in a heavier reliance on caregiver assistance for activities of daily living and higher health care costs for caregivers because of advanced age we estimate that the average cost per participant would be about
In the second stage of expansion we estimate that about 29,000 additional veterans would use the Family Caregivers program in 2021. Because veterans in this group would be younger than those under the initial expansion we expect they would have less reliance on caregiver assistance (lower stipend amount) and the caregivers would be younger (lower CHAMPVA costs). On average, in 2021, we estimate the incremental cost per participant would be
In addition, under this section CBO estimates that roughly 34,000 caregivers in the current Family Caregivers Program (for veterans injured during service after
Furthermore, in anticipation of the surge of new applications upon expansion of the Family Caregivers Program,
Overtime for Medical Staff. Section 412 would allow
Competitive Pay for Physician Assistants. Beginning 1 year after enactment, section 413 would require
In addition, we expect that the higher pay level would help ameliorate
Competitive Pay for Directors. One year after enactment, section 415 would allow
Guidelines for Opioid Therapy. Within 1 year of enactment of this bill, section 421 would require
On the basis of information from
In 2015, the PDMPs cost about
According to
In
Opioid Safety Measures. Section 422 would require
This provision would create pain management teams throughout the
Section 422 also would require
This section also would require
In
Consult with patients and family members,
Oversee use of best practices in managing pain and issue recommendations for treating difficult cases, and
Host educational and public events.
Under this provision, CBO expects that the regional boards--whose members might be spread across multiple states-- would usually hold regular board meetings via phone or virtual conferencing. However, face-to-face meetings may be needed on occasion; thus, CBO estimates annual per diem and travel costs of
Assessment of Opioid Therapy. Under section 425, within 2 years of enactment of the bill,
On the basis of information from
Community Meetings. Section 432 would require
Based on costs in the private sector, we estimate
The use of complementary and alternative medicine also would partially displace the use of traditional care (emergency care, primary care, and physical therapy) but would lead to greater use of medical services on balance, than under current law. Specifically, CBO estimates that the net cost to deliver medical services, after adjusting for the expected reduction in usage of traditional health care services would be roughly
On the basis of information from
IT System. By
Agreements for Extended Care. Section 461 would temporarily--through 2019--exempt
According to
CBO also estimates that
According to
The full text of the report is found at: https://www.congress.gov/congressional-report/114th-congress/senate-report/395/1?r=1.
-1285360
House Passage of Transparent Insurance Standards Act Shows Congress’ Concern On International Agreements
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News