Increasing Medical Oversight in the Department of Veterans Affairs Act of 2014 - Establishes the Office of the Medical Inspector of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) within the Office of the Under Secretary for Health. Includes among the functions of the Office to:
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2401 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2401
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish the Office of the
Medical Inspector within the Office of the Under Secretary for Health
of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 22, 2014
Mr. Tester (for himself, Mr. Moran, Mr. Begich, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr.
Walsh, Mrs. Gillibrand, and Mrs. McCaskill) 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 establish the Office of the
Medical Inspector within the Office of the Under Secretary for Health
of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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 ``Increasing Medical Oversight in the
Department of Veterans Affairs Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF THE MEDICAL INSPECTOR.
(a) Establishment.--Subchapter I of chapter 73 of title 38, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 7310. Office of the Medical Inspector
``(a) In General.--There is established in the Department within
the Office of the Under Secretary for Health an office to be known as
the `Office of the Medical Inspector' (in this section referred to as
the `Office').
``(b) Head.--(1) The Medical Inspector shall be the head of the
Office.
``(2) The Medical Inspector shall be appointed by the Secretary
from among individuals qualified to perform the duties of the position.
``(3) The Medical Inspector shall report directly to the Under
Secretary for Health.
``(c) Functions.--The functions of the Office shall include the
following:
``(1) To review the quality of health care provided to
veterans--
``(A) by the Department generally; and
``(B) by the Department through contracts with non-
Department health care providers.
``(2) To review offices of the Veterans Health
Administration that have an impact on the quality of health
care provided to veterans by the Department and the performance
of the Department in providing such care.
``(3) To review offices and facilities of the Veterans
Health Administration to ensure that policies and procedures of
the Department and the Veterans Health Administration are
applied consistently at all such offices and facilities.
``(4) To investigate any systemic issues, as determined by
the Medical Inspector, that arise within the Veterans Health
Administration, including the following:
``(A) Improper issuance of credentials and
privileges to health care providers.
``(B) Impediments to the access of veterans to
health care from the Department.
``(C) Wait times for appointments by veterans at
medical facilities of the Department in excess of wait-
time goals established by the Department.
``(D) Intentional falsification by employees of the
Department of information or data with respect to wait
times for such appointments.
``(5) To establish temporary investigative teams to carry
out reviews or investigations described in paragraphs (1), (2),
(3), and (4) in response to specific incidents or inquiries,
including the following:
``(A) Investigations of complaints by a veteran, a
family member of a veteran, or another individual that
may require a visit to a facility or facilities of the
Department.
``(B) Assessments to examine potential systemic
issues within the Veterans Health Administration that
may require the conduct of surveys, the collection of
data, and the analysis of databases of the Department.
``(6) To recommend policies to promote economy and
efficiency in the administration of, and to prevent and detect
criminal activity, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in, programs
and operations of the Veterans Health Administration.
``(7) To carry out any other tasks required of the Office
by the Secretary or the Under Secretary for Health before, on,
or after the date of the enactment of this section.
``(d) Reports.--(1) Not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of this section, and periodically thereafter, the Medical
Inspector shall submit to the Secretary, the Under Secretary for
Health, and Congress reports on any problems or deficiencies
encountered in programs and operations of the Veterans Health
Administration, including any recommendations for corrective actions.
``(2) Each report required by paragraph (1) shall be made available
to the public on an Internet website of the Department.
``(3) Any other report prepared by the Medical Inspector in
carrying out the functions of the Office under this section shall be--
``(A) submitted to Congress; and
``(B) made available to the public on an Internet website
of the Department.
``(e) Privacy Matters.--Any medical or other personal information
obtained by the Office shall be protected from disclosure or misuse in
accordance with the laws on privacy applicable to such information.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of
chapter 73 of such title is amended by inserting after the item
relating to section 7309 the following new item:
``7310. Office of the Medical Inspector.''.
(c) Conforming Amendments.--Section 7306(a) of such title is
amended by--
(1) redesignating paragraph (10) as paragraph (11); and
(2) inserting after paragraph (9) the following new
paragraph (10):
``(10) The Medical Inspector, who shall be the head of the
Office of the Medical Inspector under section 7310 of this
title.''.
(d) Continuation in Office.--The individual serving as the Medical
Inspector of the Department of Veterans Affairs on the day before the
date of the enactment of this Act may serve as the Medical Inspector of
the Department of Veterans Affairs after that date until the date on
which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs appoints an individual to be
the Medical Inspector pursuant to section 7310(b)(2) of title 38,
United States Code, as added by subsection (a).
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
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