To continue to provide high quality health care to veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is amending its regulations to allow VA health care providers who are licensed, registered, or certified in "a State" to practice their medical specialty in any State when they are acting within the scope of their VA employment, regardless of individual State licensure, registration, or certification restrictions, except for applicable State restrictions on the authority to prescribe and administer controlled substances.  Through this rulemaking, health care providers would be able to provide health care services across State lines and in States where they do not hold a license, registration, or certification, which will increase VA’s capacity to use its current medical resources in varied health care delivery modalities, particularly through telehealth, increasing the number of patient encounters and increasing access to VA health care.  This rule will allow VA health care providers to practice in accordance with their competencies, as reflected by their clinical privileges or scope of practice.  In this rulemaking, VA will exercise Federal preemption of State licensure, registration, and certification laws only to the extent such State laws conflict with the health care provider’s ability to practice across state lines while acting within the scope of their VA employment.