[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3043 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3043

   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot 
program establishing a patient self-scheduling appointment system, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 9, 2016

  Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Mrs. Ernst) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot 
program establishing a patient self-scheduling appointment system, 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 ``Faster Care for Veterans Act of 
2016''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In June 2014, an internal audit conducted by the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs found more than 120,000 veterans 
        waited at least 90 days for appointments for health care or 
        never received appointments.
            (2) One year following such audit, and despite the 
        Department handling more appointments than in previous years, 
        reports indicate that the number of veterans waiting 30 days or 
        more for health care increased by 50 percent.
            (3) In 2008, the Inspector General of the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs estimated that 18 percent of outpatient 
        appointment slots went unfilled because of patient no-shows or 
        because facility personnel did not refill canceled 
        appointments.
            (4) Wait times are not unique to the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs. The average wait time in the private sector is more 
        than 18 days, but private sector hospitals and health systems 
        are now leveraging technology to eliminate wait times and 
        ensure that every available appointment is used.
            (5) In June 2015, the Institute of Medicine of the National 
        Academy of Sciences called for a patient-oriented scheduling 
        platform that allows patients to self-schedule care online at 
        any time.

SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM ESTABLISHING A PATIENT SELF-SCHEDULING 
              APPOINTMENT SYSTEM.

    (a) Pilot Program.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall commence 
a pilot program under which veterans use an Internet website to 
schedule and confirm appointments for health care at medical facilities 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
    (b) Selection of Locations.--The Secretary shall select not fewer 
than three Veterans Integrated Services Networks in which to carry out 
the pilot program under subsection (a).
    (c) Contracts.--
            (1) Authority.--The Secretary shall seek to enter into a 
        contract with one or more contractors that are able to meet the 
        criteria under paragraph (3) to provide the scheduling and 
        confirmation capability described in subsection (a).
            (2) Notice of competition.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the 
                date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
                issue a request for proposals for the contract 
                described in paragraph (1).
                    (B) Open request.--The request for proposals issued 
                under subparagraph (A) shall be full and open to any 
                contractor that is able to meet the criteria under 
                paragraph (3).
            (3) Selection of vendors.--Not later than 120 days after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
        enter into a contract with one or more contractors that have an 
        existing commercially available online patient self-scheduling 
        capability that--
                    (A) allows patients to self-schedule, confirm, and 
                modify outpatient and specialty care appointments in 
                real time through an Internet website;
                    (B) makes available, in real time, any appointments 
                that were previously filled but later canceled by other 
                patients; and
                    (C) allows patients to use the online scheduling 
                capability 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
            (4) Integration with existing infrastructure.--The 
        Secretary shall ensure that a contractor awarded a contract 
        under this section is able to integrate the online scheduling 
        capability of the contractor with the Veterans Health 
        Information Systems and Technology Architecture of the 
        Department.
    (d) Duration of Pilot Program.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided by paragraph (2), the 
        Secretary shall carry out the pilot program under subsection 
        (a) during the 18-month period beginning on the commencement of 
        the pilot program.
            (2) Extension.--The Secretary may extend the duration of 
        the pilot program under subsection (a), and may expand the 
        selection of Veterans Integrated Services Networks under 
        subsection (b), if the Secretary determines that the pilot 
        program is reducing the wait times of veterans seeking health 
        care from the Department and ensuring that more available 
        appointment times are filled.
    (e) Report.--Not later than one year after commencing the pilot 
program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the 
outcomes of the pilot program, including--
            (1) whether the pilot program demonstrated--
                    (A) improvements to the ability of veterans to 
                schedule appointments for the receipt of health care 
                from the Department; and
                    (B) a reduction in wait times for such 
                appointments; and
            (2) such recommendations for expanding the pilot program to 
        additional Veterans Integrated Services Networks as the 
        Secretary considers appropriate.
    (f) Use of Amounts Otherwise Appropriated.--No additional amounts 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the pilot program under 
subsection (a) and such pilot program shall be carried out using 
amounts otherwise made available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
for the medical support and compliance account of the Veterans Health 
Administration.
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