Rural Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2014 - Sets forth requirements for the first update of the Strategic Plan Refresh for Fiscal Years 2012 through 2014 after the enactment of this Act.
Requires the Director of the Office of Rural Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to prepare the update in consultation with the Director of the Health Care Retention and Recruitment Office, the Director of the Office of Quality and Performance, and the Director of the Office of Care Coordination Services of the Department.
Requires the update to include: (1) goals and objectives for the provision of health care in rural areas, including for recruiting and retaining health care personnel, ensuring timeliness and improving quality in the delivery of health care services through contract and fee-basis providers, implementing and enhancing the use of telemedicine services, ensuring the full and effective use of mobile outpatient clinics, and coordinating and sharing of resources among federal agencies; (2) procedures for soliciting from each Veterans Health Administration facility that serves a rural area a statement of the facility's clinical capacity, the facility's procedures in the event of an emergency outside the scope of such capacity, and the facility's procedures and mechanisms for the provision and coordination of health care for women veterans; and (3) modification of funding allocation mechanisms to ensure that the Office of Rural Health distributes funds to VA components to best achieve goals and objectives in a timely manner.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4561 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4561
To specify requirements for the next update of the current strategic
plan for the Office of Rural Health of the Department of Veterans
Affairs for improving access to, and the quality of, health care
services for veterans in rural areas.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 1, 2014
Ms. Shea-Porter introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To specify requirements for the next update of the current strategic
plan for the Office of Rural Health of the Department of Veterans
Affairs for improving access to, and the quality of, health care
services for veterans in rural areas.
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 ``Rural Veterans Health Care
Improvement Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH NEXT UPDATE OF CURRENT
STRATEGIC PLAN FOR OFFICE OF RURAL HEALTH OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) Requirements.--
(1) In general.--The first update of the Strategic Plan
Refresh for Fiscal Years 2012 through 2014 of the Office of
Rural Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs after the
date of the enactment of this Act, whether an update or refresh
of such Strategic Plan Refresh or a strategic plan to supersede
such Strategic Plan Refresh, shall be prepared in accordance
with this section.
(2) Consultation.--The Director of the Office of Rural
Health shall prepare the update in consultation with the
following:
(A) The Director of the Health Care Retention and
Recruitment Office of the Department.
(B) The Director of the Office of Quality and
Performance of the Department.
(C) The Director of the Office of Care Coordination
Services of the Department.
(b) Elements.--The update described in subsection (a) shall
include, for the period covered by the update, the following:
(1) Goals and objectives for the recruitment and retention
by the Veterans Health Administration of health care personnel
in rural areas.
(2) Goals and objectives for ensuring timeliness and
improving quality in the delivery of health care services by
the Veterans Health Administration in rural areas through
contract and fee-basis providers.
(3) Goals and objectives for the implementation, expansion,
and enhanced use of telemedicine services by the Veterans
Health Administration in rural areas, including through
coordination with other appropriate offices of the Department.
(4) Goals and objectives for ensuring the full and
effective use of mobile outpatient clinics by the Veterans
Health Administration for the provision of health care services
in rural areas, including goals and objectives for the use of
such clinics on a fully mobile basis and for encouraging health
care providers who provide services through such clinics to do
so in rural areas.
(5) Procedures for soliciting from each Veterans Health
Administration facility that serves a rural area the following:
(A) A statement of the clinical capacity of such
facility.
(B) The procedures of such facility in the event of
a medical, surgical, or mental health emergency outside
the scope of the clinical capacity of such facility.
(C) The procedures and mechanisms of such facility
for the provision and coordination of health care for
women veterans, including procedures and mechanisms for
coordination with local hospitals and health care
facilities, oversight of primary care and fee-basis
care, and management of specialty care.
(6) Goals and objectives for the modification of the
funding allocation mechanisms of the Office of Rural Health in
order to ensure that the Office distributes funds to components
of the Department to best achieve the goals and objectives of
the Office and in a timely manner.
(7) Goals and objectives for the coordination of, and
sharing of resources with respect to, the provision of health
care services to veterans in rural areas between the Department
of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, the Indian
Health Service of the Department of Health and Human Services,
and other Federal agencies, as appropriate and prudent.
(8) Specific milestones for the achievement of the goals
and objectives developed for the update.
(9) Procedures for ensuring the effective implementation of
the update.
(c) Transmittal to Congress.--Not later than 90 days after the date
of the issuance of the update described in subsection (a), the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall transmit the update to Congress,
together with such comments and recommendations in connection with the
update as the Secretary considers appropriate.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
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