[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2922 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2922

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for partnerships and 
   contracts between the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and eligible 
 academic affiliates for the mutually beneficial coordination, use, or 
       exchange of health-care resources, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 11, 2016

Mr. Whitehouse introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for partnerships and 
   contracts between the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and eligible 
 academic affiliates for the mutually beneficial coordination, use, or 
       exchange of health-care resources, 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 ``Enhanced Veteran Healthcare Act of 
2016''.

SEC. 2. PARTNERSHIPS AND CONTRACTS WITH ACADEMIC AFFILIATES FOR 
              MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL COORDINATION, USE, OR EXCHANGE OF 
              HEALTH-CARE RESOURCES.

    Section 8153(a) of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``, including pursuant 
        to paragraph (4)'' before the period at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (3)(A)--
                    (A) by striking ``(A) If the health-care resource'' 
                and inserting ``(A)(i) If the health-care resource''; 
                and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new clause:
    ``(ii) In the case of a partnership or contract entered into under 
paragraph (4) for the coordination, use, or exchange of a clinical 
service, the use of medical equipment or space, research, the 
construction or lease of clinical space, the use of any full-time 
equivalent employee of the Department or contractor of the Department, 
or the use of any full-time equivalent employee jointly hired by the 
Department and an eligible academic affiliate, the Secretary shall make 
arrangements for the acquisition of the resource by using procedures 
other than competitive procedures.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
    ``(4) In carrying out paragraph (1), in order to carry out more 
effectively the primary function of the Veterans Health Administration 
and notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the Secretary 
shall seek to enter into partnerships or contracts with eligible 
academic affiliates for the mutually beneficial coordination, use, or 
exchange of use of covered health-care resources of the Department with 
the goal of improving the access to, and quality of, the hospital care 
and medical services furnished by the Department.
    ``(5) In this subsection:
            ``(A) The term `covered health-care resource' means, with 
        respect to covered agreements or contracts, any clinical 
        service, direct patient care, space (whether leased or 
        constructed) used for clinical services or research, and 
        employees responsible for providing direct patient care.
            ``(B) The term `eligible academic affiliate' means an 
        accredited school of allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, 
        or dentistry, a university health sciences center, or a 
        teaching hospital affiliated with such a school or center.''.
                                 <all>