113 STAT. 1548 PUBLIC LAW 106-117—NOV. 30, 1999 care for a service-connected disability, and (2) to any veteran who is in need of such care and who has a service-connected disabihty rated at 70 percent or more. "(b)(1) The Secretary shall ensure that a veteran described in subsection (a) who continues to need nursing home care is not, after placement in a Department nursing home, transferred from the facility without the consent of the veteran, or, in the event the veteran cannot provide informed consent, the representative of the veteran. "(2) Nothing in subsection (a) may be construed as authorizing or requiring that a veteran who is receiving nursing home care in a Department nursing home on the date of the enactment of this section be displaced, transferred, or discharged from the facility. Termination "(c) The provisions of subsection (a) shall terminate on date. December 31, 2003.". (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1710 the following new item: "1710A. Required nursing home care.". (b) REQUIRED NONINSTITUTIONAL EXTENDED CARE SERVICES. — Section 1701 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: "(10)(A) During the period beginning on the date of the enactment of the Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act and ending on December 31, 2003, the term 'medical services' includes noninstitutional extended care services. "(B) For the purposes of subparagraph (A), the term 'noninstitutional extended care services' means such alternatives to institutional extended care which the Secretary may furnish (i) directly, (ii) by contract, or (iii) (through provision of case management) by another provider or payor.". (c) PROGRAM OF EXTENDED CARE SERVICES. — (1) Chapter 17 is amended by inserting after section 1710A, as added by subsection (a), the following new section:
- '§ 1710B. Extended care services
"(a) The Secretary (subject to section 1710(a)(4) of this title and subsection (c) of this section) shall operate and maintain a program to provide extended care services to eligible veterans in accordance with this section. Such services shall include the following: "(1) Geriatric evaluation. "(2) Nursing home care (A) in facilities operated by the Secretary, and (B) in community-based facilities through contracts under section 1720 of this title. "(3) Domiciliary services under section 1710(b) of this title. "(4) Adult day health care under section 1720(f) of this title. "(5) Such other noninstitutional alternatives to nursing home care as the Secretary may furnish as medical services under section 1701(10) of this title. "(6) Respite care under section 1720B of this title. "(b) The Secretary shall ensure that the staffing and level of extended care services provided by the Secretary nationally in facilities of the Department during any fiscal year is not less than
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