[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 175 (Monday, November 14, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H8465-H8467]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IMPROVING OVERSIGHT OF VETERANS COMMUNITY CARE PROVIDERS ACT OF 2022
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 7277) to improve the methods by which the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs identifies health care providers that are not eligible
to participate in the Veterans Community Care Program, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 7277
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 ``Improving Oversight of
Veterans Community Care Providers Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. IDENTIFICATION OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS THAT ARE NOT
ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN VETERANS COMMUNITY
CARE PROGRAM.
(a) Plan.--
(1) Requirement.--Beginning not later than 90 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs, acting through the Under Secretary for
Health, shall carry out a plan to improve the methods by
which the Secretary identifies health care providers that are
not eligible to participate in the Veterans Community Care
Program.
(2) Matters included.--The plan under paragraph (1) shall
include the following:
(A) Modifying the standard operating procedures of the
Office of Community Care of the Veterans Health
Administration regarding the exclusion of health care
providers from participating in the Veterans Community Care
Program to require the automated continuous matching of
health care providers in the Provider Profile Management
System of the Veterans Health Administration, or such
successor system, with covered data systems using multiple
unique identifiers, including taxpayer identification number,
national provider identifier, Social Security number, and
date of birth.
(B) A fraud risk analysis conducted by the Office of
Community Care regarding the exclusion of health care
providers from participating in the Veterans Community Care
Program that includes--
(i) an assessment of the likelihood and impact of inherent
fraud risks relating to the self-certification of State
licenses and addresses provided by health care providers;
(ii) a determination of the fraud risk tolerance; and
(iii) an examination of the suitability of existing fraud
controls.
(C) Any other matters the Under Secretary determines will
improve the oversight of health care providers participating
in the Veterans Community Care Program.
(b) Certification.--Not later than 270 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall certify to
the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
Representatives and the Senate that the Secretary has
implemented the plan under subsection (a).
(c) Reports.--
(1) Initial report.--Not later than one year after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to
the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
Representatives and the Senate a report that--
(A) describes the progress the Under Secretary has made in
carrying out the plan under subsection (a); and
(B) includes recommendations for legislative action to
further improve the methods by which the Secretary identifies
health care providers that are not eligible to participate in
the Veterans Community Care Program.
(2) Update.--Not later than two years after the date on
which the Secretary submits the report under paragraph (1),
the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans'
Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate an
update to the report.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``covered data systems'' means the following:
(A) The List of Excluded Individuals/Entities of the Office
of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human
Services.
(B) The System for Award Management Exclusions list
described in part 9 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations,
and part 180 of title 2 of such Code, or successor
regulations.
(C) The monthly deactivation file of the National Plan and
Provider Enumeration System of the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services.
(D) The National Practitioner Data Bank established
pursuant to the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986
(42 U.S.C. 11101 et seq.).
[[Page H8466]]
(2) The term ``Veterans Community Care Program'' means the
program established under section 1703 of title 38, United
States Code.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Takano) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Ellzey) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on H.R. 7277, as amended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7277, the Improving Oversight
of Veterans Community Care Providers Act, as amended, a bill that will
take important steps toward ensuring that healthcare providers meet the
eligibility requirements and standards of VA's Community Care Program.
I thank Representative Chris Pappas, chairman of the Veterans'
Affairs Committee's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, for his
work on this bipartisan bill.
I was disturbed by a recent Government Accountability Office report
requested by Chairman Pappas and Ranking Member Tracey Mann, which
identified approximately 1,600 healthcare providers who were deceased,
ineligible to work with the Federal Government, or who had revoked or
suspended medical licenses, yet were still listed as active providers
in VA's Community Care networks.
While the number of ineligible providers was a small fraction of the
roughly 1.2 million active providers in VA's Community Care networks,
they still represented a potential threat to veteran health and safety,
and a risk for financial fraud.
Congressman Pappas' bill would require VA to implement GAO's
recommendations to ensure veterans and taxpayers are not put at risk.
The bill will modify standard operating procedures at the VA Health
Administration and require continuous matching of providers'
information against several data sources in order to verify
eligibility, such as the List of Excluded Individuals and Entities that
the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector
General maintains, the National Practitioner Data Bank, and the monthly
deactivation file of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
This will go a long way toward ensuring that physicians and other
providers in VA's Community Care networks meet the basic and necessary
standards, such as proper and current licensing requirements.
This bill has the support of the American Legion, Disabled American
Veterans, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The Congressional Budget
Office estimates that it will have no significant impact on direct
spending or deficits.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation,
and I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1545
Mr. ELLZEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7277, as amended, the
Improving Oversight of the Veterans Community Care Providers Act.
This is a bipartisan bill led by Chairman Pappas and Ranking Member
Mann of the Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee.
H.R. 7277 would implement recent recommendations from the Government
Accountability Office on how to improve oversight of community care.
Community care is VA care, and it should be timely and of the highest
quality.
Unfortunately, our committee has heard repeated complaints of delays
in community care. Long wait-times at VA medical centers and delays in
community care are unacceptable, and we take these complaints very
seriously.
The committee will continue our strict oversight of the program to
ensure veterans are getting the care they need when and where they need
it. It is vital to protect this important option for veterans, and I
encourage all my colleagues to support the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New
Hampshire (Mr. Pappas), my good friend, who is the author of this
legislation and who serves as the chairman of the Subcommittee on
Oversight and Investigations of the Veterans' Affairs Committee.
Mr. PAPPAS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Takano for yielding.
I rise today in support of my bipartisan legislation, H.R. 7277, the
Improving Oversight of Veterans Community Care Providers Act.
This legislation will help ensure that the Department of Veterans
Affairs does a better job overseeing its Community Care Program, which
many veterans in my State of New Hampshire and all across the country
rely on to access high-quality care in their communities.
When veterans visit a community healthcare provider, they should be
assured, at a minimum, that the provider has a medical license and is
eligible to do business with the Federal Government. Unfortunately, as
a December 2021 GAO report detailed, this has not always been the case.
GAO identified approximately 1,600 community care providers who were
deceased, ineligible to work with the Federal Government, or who had
revoked or suspended medical licenses at the time of the review.
That is 1,600 physicians and other healthcare providers who failed to
meet some of the program's most basic requirements. This poses a
potential threat to veteran health and well-being, and risks wasting
tax dollars on inappropriate medical charges. My legislation will
strengthen oversight of these community care providers.
Now, to VA's credit, the Department has updated several data systems
to improve the credentialing process and to continuously monitor the
eligibility of providers. But progress has been too slow, and this
legislation is needed to hold the Department fully accountable.
This bill will require VA to implement a detailed plan with required
milestones for identifying healthcare providers who are no longer
eligible to participate in the Community Care Program.
Under the plan, VA will automatically check whether providers are
designated as ineligible on other critical lists managed by the
Department of Health and Human Services and CMMS.
VA will also be required to analyze the efficacy of allowing
community care providers to self-certify their eligibility to
participate in the program. We need VA to adopt a more complete method
for credentialing providers that has ample checks and balances.
I thank Ranking Member Tracey Mann for working with me on this
bipartisan legislation, which has also been endorsed by VFW, the
American Legion, and Disabled American Veterans.
Once enacted, it will give much-needed protection to veterans to
ensure they have high-quality healthcare they earned through their
service to our Nation, without fear that they may be receiving care
from an ineligible provider. So I urge all colleagues to support this
legislation today.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ELLZEY. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this
bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am
prepared to close.
I urge all of my colleagues to join me in passing this important
piece of legislation, H.R. 7277, as amended, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 7277, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. ROSENDALE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
[[Page H8467]]
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
____________________