[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 123 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 123

 To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into a contract 
   or other agreement with a third party to review appointees in the 
 Veterans Health Administration who had a license terminated for cause 
   by a State licensing board for care or services rendered at a non-
  Veterans Health Administration facility and to provide individuals 
 treated by such an appointee with notice if it is determined that an 
   episode of care or services to which they received was below the 
               standard of care, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 15, 2019

   Ms. Ernst (for herself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Grassley, and Mr. Boozman) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into a contract 
   or other agreement with a third party to review appointees in the 
 Veterans Health Administration who had a license terminated for cause 
   by a State licensing board for care or services rendered at a non-
  Veterans Health Administration facility and to provide individuals 
 treated by such an appointee with notice if it is determined that an 
   episode of care or services to which they received was below the 
               standard of care, 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 ``Ensuring Quality Care for Our 
Veterans Act''.

SEC. 2. THIRD PARTY REVIEW OF APPOINTEES IN VETERANS HEALTH 
              ADMINISTRATION WHO HAD A LICENSE TERMINATED FOR CAUSE AND 
              NOTICE TO INDIVIDUALS TREATED BY THOSE APPOINTEES IF 
              DETERMINED THAT AN EPISODE OF CARE OR SERVICES TO WHICH 
              THEY RECEIVED WAS BELOW THE STANDARD OF CARE.

    (a) Third Party Review.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
        shall enter into a contract or other agreement with an 
        organization that is not part of the Federal Government to 
        conduct a clinical review for quality management of hospital 
        care or medical services furnished by covered providers.
            (2) Qualifications.--The Secretary shall ensure that each 
        review of a covered provider under this subsection is performed 
        by an individual who is licensed in the same specialty as the 
        covered provider.
    (b) Notice to Patients Treated by Covered Providers.--With respect 
to hospital care or medical services furnished by a covered provider 
under the laws administered by the Secretary, if a clinical review for 
quality management under subsection (a) determines that the standard of 
care was not met during an episode of care, the Secretary shall notify 
the individual who received such care or services from the covered 
provider as described in applicable policy of the Veterans Heath 
Administration.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Covered provider.--The term ``covered provider'' means 
        an individual who--
                    (A) was appointed to the Veterans Health 
                Administration under section 7401 of title 38, United 
                States Code; and
                    (B) had a license terminated for cause by a State 
                licensing board for hospital care or medical services 
                provided in a facility that is not a facility of the 
                Veterans Health Administration.
            (2) Hospital care or medical services.--The terms 
        ``hospital care'' and ``medical services'' have the meanings 
        given those terms in section 1701 of title 38, United States 
        Code.
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