38 C.F.R. § 17.121

Limitations on payment or reimbursement of the costs of emergency treatment not previously authorized

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(a) Emergency Treatment. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, VA will not approve claims for payment or reimbursement of the costs of emergency treatment not previously authorized for any period beyond the date on which the medical emergency ended. For this purpose, VA considers that an emergency ends when the designated VA clinician at the VA facility has determined that, based on sound medical judgment, the veteran who received emergency treatment:

(1) Could have been transferred from the non-VA facility to a VA medical center (or other Federal facility that VA has an agreement with to furnish health care services for veterans) for continuation of treatment, or

(2) Could have reported to a VA medical center (or other Federal facility that VA has an agreement with to furnish health care services for veterans) for continuation of treatment.

(b) Continued non-emergency treatment. Claims for payment or reimbursement of the costs of emergency treatment not previously authorized may only be approved for continued, non-emergency treatment, if:

(1) The non-VA facility notified VA at the time the veteran could be safely transferred to a VA facility (or other Federal facility that VA has an agreement with to furnish health care services for veterans), and the transfer of the veteran was not accepted; and

(2) The non-VA facility made and documented reasonable attempts to request transfer of the veteran to a VA facility (or to another Federal facility that VA has an agreement with to furnish health care services for veterans), which means the non-VA facility contacted either the VA Transfer Coordinator, Administrative Officer of the Day, or designated staff responsible for accepting transfer of patients, at a local VA (or other Federal facility) and documented such contact in the veteran's progress/physicians' notes, discharge summary, or other applicable medical record.

(c) Refusal of transfer. If a stabilized veteran who requires continued non-emergency treatment refuses to be transferred to an available VA facility (or other Federal facility that VA has an agreement with to furnish health care services for veterans), VA will make payment or reimbursement only for the expenses related to the initial evaluation and the emergency treatment furnished to the veteran up to the point of refusal of transfer by the veteran.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1724, 1728, 7304) [76 FR 79071, Dec. 21, 2011]

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 2 cases, 2002–2014 · leading case: Bellezza v. Principi, 16 Vet. App. 145 (Vet. App. 2002).

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Bellezza v. Principi, 16 Vet. App. 145 (Vet. App. 2002). · cites it 16× “Under 38 C.F.R. § 17.121 [(2001),] only a VA physician is empowered to determine when a veteran who received emergency hospital care could have been transferred to a VA medical center or when the veteran could have reported to a VA medical center and in this case that…”

Bio-Med. Applications of Aquadilla, Inc. v. United States, 119 Fed. Cl. 546 (Fed. Cl. 2014). “48©); 38 C.F.R. § 17.121 (citing for authority a non-existent 38 U.”

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