12 2 STA T .4 12 9PUBLIC LA W 11 0–387—O CT. 10 , 2008 beap p ro pr i a t e dsuch su m sasma y be n ecessary to f und the nationa l coordinator established by subsection ( e ).’ ’. (b) CLERICA L AM E ND MEN T . —T he table of sections at the be g in - ning of chapter 73 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 733 0 the follo w ing new item
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‘ 73 3 0A.Epile p syc e nt e r s of e x cellence. ’ ’. SEC.405 .ES TABLI S HM E N T OFQU ALIFICATIONS FO RP EER SPECIALIST APPOINTEES. (a) I N G ENERAL.— S ection 7 4 0 2 (b) is amended— ( 1 ) by redesignating the paragraph (11) relating to other health care positions as paragraph (14)
and (2) by inserting after paragraph (12) the following new paragraph (13): ‘ ‘(13) P EER S P ECIALI S T.—To be eligible to be appointed to a peer specialist position , a person must— ‘‘(A) be a v eteran who has recovered or is recovering from a mental health condition; and ‘‘( B ) be certified by— ‘‘(i) a not-for-profit entity engaged in peer specialist training as having met such criteria as the Secretary shall establish for a peer specialist position; or ‘‘(ii) a State as having satisfied relevant State re q uire- ments for a peer specialist position.’’. (b) PEER SPECIALIST TRAININ G .—Section 7402 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: ‘‘(g) The Secretary may enter into contracts with not-for-profit entities to provide— ‘‘(1) peer specialist training to veterans; and ‘‘(2) certification for veterans under subsection (b)(13)(B)(i).’’. SEC. 40 6 . ESTABLISHMENT OF CONSOLI D ATED PATIENT ACCOUNTIN G CENTERS. (a) E STA B LIS H MENT OF CENTERS.—Chapter 17 is amended by inserting after section 172 9 A the following new section: ‘ ‘ §1729B.Cons o lidate d p atient a c co u ntin g cente r s ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— N ot later than five years after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of V eterans Affairs shall establish not more than seven consolidated patient accounting centers for conducting industry-modeled regionali z ed billing and collection activities of the D epartment. ‘‘(b) FU NCTIONS.—The centers shall carry out the following func- tions: ‘‘(1) R eengineer and integrate all business processes of the revenue cycle of the Department. ‘‘(2) Standardize and coordinate all activities of the Depart- ment related to the revenue cycle for all health care services furnished to veterans for non-service-connected medical condi- tions. ‘‘(3) Apply commercial industry standards for measures of access, timeliness, and performance metrics with respect to revenue enhancement of the Department. ‘‘(4) Apply other requirements with respect to such revenue cycle improvement as the Secretary may specify.’’. Deadlin e .38USC7402 .
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