[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3122 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3122

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs to enter into a contract with a non-government entity 
 for the conduct of biannual audits of Department of Veterans Affairs 
             health care functions, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 21, 2015

Mr. Hurt of Virginia (for himself, Mr. Walz, and Mr. Roe of Tennessee) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs to enter into a contract with a non-government entity 
 for the conduct of biannual audits of Department of Veterans Affairs 
             health care functions, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``The Veterans Administration 
Legislative and Objective Review Act of 2015'' or ``VALOR Act of 
2015''.

SEC. 2. BIANNUAL INDEPENDENT AUDITS OF HEALTH CARE FUNCTIONS OF 
              DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 17 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1709B. Biannual audits of Department health care functions
    ``(a) Biannual Audits Required.--The Secretary shall enter into a 
contract with an appropriate non-government entity for the conduct of a 
biannual audit of all functions of the Department related to the 
furnishing of health care by the Department. Such entity shall provide 
a report on the results of each biannual audit conducted under this 
section, which shall be made publicly available on an Internet website 
of the Department. Each such report shall include an assessment of each 
of the following:
            ``(1) The current and projected demographics and unique 
        health care needs of the patient population of the Department, 
        as well as the unique health care needs of veterans living in 
        rural areas.
            ``(2) The current and projected health care capabilities 
        and resources of the Department.
            ``(3) The use of authorities granted to the Secretary to 
        furnish hospital care and medical services at non-Department 
        facilities.
            ``(4) The appropriate system-wide access standard 
        applicable to health care furnished by and through the 
        Department.
            ``(5) The workflow efficiency and processes at each medical 
        facility of the Department for scheduling appointments for 
        veterans.
            ``(6) The organization, workflow processes, and tools used 
        by the Department to support clinical staffing, access to care, 
        effective length-of-stay management and care transitions, 
        positive patient experience, accurate documentation, and 
        subsequent coding of inpatient services.
            ``(7) The staffing level and productivity of each medical 
        facility of the Department.
            ``(8) The progress of the Department with respect to the 
        use of information technology for furnishing and managing 
        health care.
            ``(9) The business processes of the Veterans Health 
        Administration.
            ``(10) The purchasing, distribution, and use of 
        pharmaceuticals, medical and surgical supplies, medical 
        devices, and health care related services by the Department.
            ``(11) The progress of the Department with respect to 
        construction and maintenance projects at medical facilities of 
        the Department and the use of medical facility leases.
            ``(12) The effectiveness of the leadership of the 
        Department in executing their management responsibilities and 
        implementing reforms of previous audits.
            ``(13) The progress of the Department with respect to 
        implementing recommended reforms resulting from previous 
        evaluations.
            ``(14) Such other matters as the non-government entity 
        determines relevant.
            ``(15) Recommendations on how the Department can make 
        changes to be more effective in delivering quality and timely 
        care to veterans.
    ``(b) Report to Congress.--Not later than 120 days after receiving 
a report under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
report on the results of the audit covered by the report. Each such 
report shall include the findings of the audit and the plans of the 
Secretary to address such findings and make improvements to the 
functions of the Department based on such findings.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such section is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
1709A the following new item:

``1709B. Biannual audits of Department health care functions''.
    (c) Deadline for Implementation.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall enter into a contract for the conduct of the audit required under 
section 1709B of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection 
(a), by not later than January 1, 2017.
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