Veterans Information Modernization Act

Veterans Information Modernization Act

(Sec. 2) This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report annually to Congress during 2016 through 2020 on its furnishing of hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care.

Each report shall:

• evaluate the effectiveness of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) program in improving the quality of, and increasing access to, veterans hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care; and
• assess physician and other VHA employee workloads, patient demographics and utilization rates, physician compensation, physician and VHA employee productivity, the percentage of hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care provided to veterans in VA facilities and in non-VA facilities, pharmaceutical prices, and outstanding third party health billings.

(Sec. 3) The definition of homeless veteran is expanded for purposes of VA benefits.

(Sec. 4) The VA shall: (1) adopt the device identification system developed for medical devices by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or implement a comparable standard identification system to identify biological implants for use in VA medical facilities, (2) implement a system for tracking biological implants from human or animal source to implantation which shall be compatible with the identification system, and (3) implement inventory recall controls compatible with the tracking system.

180-day implementation deadlines are set for the identification and tracking systems.

(Sec. 5) The VA may procure biological implants of human origin only from a vendor that:

• uses the standard identification system and has safeguards to ensure that a distinct identity code has been in place at each distribution step of each biological implant from its donor;
• is registered as required by the FDA, and for a vendor that uses a tissue distribution intermediary or a tissue processor, provides assurances that the intermediary or processor is registered as required by the FDA;
• ensures that donor eligibility determinations and other records accompany each biological implant at all times, regardless of the donor's country of origin;
• agrees to cooperate with all biological implant recalls;
• agrees to notify the VA of any adverse event or reaction report it provides to the FDA, or of any FDA warning letter issued to the vendor or a tissue processor or tissue distribution intermediary it uses;
• agrees to retain all records associated with the procurement of a biological implant by the VA for at least 10 years; and
• provides assurances that the biological implants provided by the vendor are acquired only from tissue processors that maintain active accreditation with the American Association of Tissue Banks or a similar national accreditation specific to biological implants.

The VA may procure biological implants of non-human origin only from a vendor that:

• uses the standard identification system;
• is a registered establishment as required by the FDA, and in the case of a vendor that is not the original product manufacturer of such implants the vendor provides assurances that the original product manufacturer is registered as required by the FDA;
• agrees to cooperate with all biological implant recalls;
• agrees to notify the VA of any adverse event report it provides to the FDA, or any FDA warning letter issued to the vendor or the original product manufacturer it uses; and
• agrees to retain all records associated with the procurement of a biological implant by the VA for at least 10 years.

The VA shall procure biological implants under the General Services Administration's federal supply schedules unless the implants are not available under them.

A VA procurement employee who procures biological implants with the intent to avoid, or with reckless disregard of, the procurement requirements of this Act shall be ineligible to hold a certificate of appointment as a contracting officer or serve as a representative of an ordering officer, contracting officer, or purchase card holder.

(Sec. 6) Extended through FY2019 is the mandatory rounding down of percentage increases of certain educational assistance rates and survivors' and dependents' educational assistance rates. Post-FY2019 increases shall be rounded to the nearest whole dollar.

(Sec. 7) The Veterans Expedited Recovery Commission is established to:

• examine the efficacy of the evidence-based therapy model for treating mental health illnesses of veterans;
• conduct a patient-centered survey within each of the Veterans Integrated Service Networks to examine the experience of veterans seeking mental health assistance through the VA and non-VA systems, the preferences of veterans regarding mental health treatment, and VA outreach efforts;
• examine complementary alternative treatment therapies for mental health issues; and
• study the potential increase of VA claims relating to mental health issues by veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, or Operation New Dawn, including an assessment of VA resources to meet such claims.

[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2256 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2256

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
  Veterans Affairs to submit an annual report on the Veterans Health 
 Administration and the furnishing of hospital care, medical services, 
      and nursing home care by the Department of Veterans Affairs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 12, 2015

 Mr. Benishek introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
  Veterans Affairs to submit an annual report on the Veterans Health 
 Administration and the furnishing of hospital care, medical services, 
      and nursing home care by 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 a the ``Veterans Information Modernization 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ANNUAL REPORT ON VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION AND FURNISHING 
              OF HOSPITAL CARE, MEDICAL SERVICES, AND NURSING HOME 
              CARE.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 7330B. Annual report on Veterans Health Administration and 
              furnishing of hospital care, medical services, and 
              nursing home care
    ``(a) Report Required.--Not later than March 1 of each year, the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the 
Senate and House of Representatives a report on the furnishing of 
hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care under the laws 
administered by the Secretary and on the administration of the 
provision of such care and services by the Veterans Health 
Administration during the calendar year preceding the calendar year 
during which the report is submitted.
    ``(b) Contents of Report.--Each report required by subsection (a) 
shall include each of the following for the year covered by the report:
            ``(1) An evaluation of the effectiveness of the Veterans 
        Health Administration program in increasing the access of 
        veterans eligible for hospital care, medical services, and 
        nursing home care furnished by the Secretary to such care.
            ``(2) An evaluation of the effectiveness of the Veterans 
        Health Administration in improving the quality of health care 
        provided to such veterans, without increasing the costs 
        incurred by the Government or such veterans, which includes the 
        relevant information for each medical center and Veterans 
        Integrated Service Network of the Department set forth 
        separately.
            ``(3) An assessment of--
                    ``(A) the workload of physicians and other 
                employees of the Veterans Health Administration;
                    ``(B) patient demographics and utilization rates;
                    ``(C) physician compensation;
                    ``(D) the productivity of physicians and other 
                employees of the Veterans Health Administration;
                    ``(E) the percentage of hospital care, medical 
                services, and nursing home care provided to such 
                veterans in Department facilities and in non-Department 
                facilities and any changes in such percentages compared 
                to the year preceding the year covered by the report; 
                and
                    ``(F) pharmaceutical prices.
    ``(c) Definitions.--In this section, the terms `hospital care', 
`medical services', `nursing home care', and `non-Department 
facilities' have the meanings given such terms in section 1701 of this 
title.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
7330A the following new item:

``7330B. Annual report on Veterans Health Administration and furnishing 
                            of hospital care, medical services, and 
                            nursing home care.''.
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