17.38—Medical benefits package.
(a)
Subject to paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, the following hospital, outpatient, and extended care services constitute the “medical benefits package” (basic care and preventive care):
(ii)
Inpatient hospital, medical, surgical, and mental healthcare, including care for substance abuse.
(iii)
Prescription drugs, including over-the-counter drugs and medical and surgical supplies available under the VA national formulary system.
(iv)
Emergency care in VA facilities; and emergency care in non-VA facilities in accordance with sharing contracts or if authorized by §§ 17.52(a)(3), 17.53, 17.54, 17.120-132.
(vi)
Comprehensive rehabilitative services other than vocational services provided under 38 U.S.C. chapter 31.
(vii)
Consultation, professional counseling, marriage and family counseling, training, and mental health services for the members of the immediate family or legal guardian of the veteran or the individual in whose household the veteran certifies an intention to live, as necessary and appropriate, in connection with the veteran's treatment as authorized under 38 CFR 71.50.
(viii)
Durable medical equipment and prosthetic and orthotic devices, including eyeglasses and hearing aids as authorized under § 17.149.
(x)
Reconstructive (plastic) surgery required as a result of disease or trauma, but not including cosmetic surgery that is not medically necessary.
(B)
Noninstitutional extended care services, including but not limited to noninstitutional geriatric evaluation, noninstitutional adult day health care, and noninstitutional respite care.
(xiv)
Completion of forms (e.g., Family Medical Leave forms, life insurance applications, Department of Education forms for loan repayment exemptions based on disability, non-VA disability program forms) by healthcare professionals based on an examination or knowledge of the veteran's condition, but not including the completion of forms for examinations if a third party customarily will pay health care practitioners for the examination but will not pay VA.
(vi)
Prevention of musculoskeletal deformity or other gradually developing disabilities of a metabolic or degenerative nature.
(ix)
Periodic reexamination of members of high-risk groups for selected diseases and for functional decline of sensory organs, and the services to treat these diseases and functional declines.
(b) Provision of the “medical benefits package”.
Care referred to in the “medical benefits package” will be provided to individuals only if it is determined by appropriate healthcare professionals that the care is needed to promote, preserve, or restore the health of the individual and is in accord with generally accepted standards of medical practice.
(1) Promote health.
Care is deemed to promote health if the care will enhance the quality of life or daily functional level of the veteran, identify a predisposition for development of a condition or early onset of disease which can be partly or totally ameliorated by monitoring or early diagnosis and treatment, and prevent future disease.
(2) Preserve health.
Care is deemed to preserve health if the care will maintain the current quality of life or daily functional level of the veteran, prevent the progression of disease, cure disease, or extend life span.
(3) Restoring health.
Care is deemed to restore health if the care will restore the quality of life or daily functional level that has been lost due to illness or injury.
(c)
In addition to the care specifically excluded from the “medical benefits package” under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, the “medical benefits package” does not include the following:
(3)
Drugs, biologicals, and medical devices not approved by the Food and Drug Administration unless the treating medical facility is conducting formal clinical trials under an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) or an Investigational New Drug (IND) application, or the drugs, biologicals, or medical devices are prescribed under a compassionate use exemption.
(5)
Hospital and outpatient care for a veteran who is either a patient or inmate in an institution of another government agency if that agency has a duty to give the care or services. This exclusion does not apply to veterans who are released from incarceration in a prison or jail into a temporary housing program (such as a community residential re-entry center or halfway house).