VA Medical Center Recovery Act
(Sec. 2) This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to publish in the Federal Register and on a publicly available VA Internet website a compilation of key health metrics for each VA medical center.
The VA shall: (1) determine on a semiannual basis whether each medical center is satisfactory or underperforming; and (2) upon a determination of underperformance, send a rapid deployment team to the center to ensure that it achieves satisfactory performance as quickly as practicable.
A rapid deployment team shall:
The Inspector General of the VA shall prioritize investigations regarding underperforming medical centers.
The Office of Accountability Review shall prioritize investigations of whistleblower retaliation regarding underperforming medical centers.
(Sec. 3) The VA shall seek to enter into partnerships with recognized schools of nursing to provide undergraduate nursing students enrolled in such schools with standardized training with respect to:
[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3234 Introduced in House (IH)]
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3234
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish within the
Department of Veterans Affairs an Office of Failing Medical Center
Recovery, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 28, 2015
Mrs. Roby introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish within the
Department of Veterans Affairs an Office of Failing Medical Center
Recovery, 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 ``Failing VA Medical Center Recovery
Act''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF AN OFFICE OF FAILING MEDICAL CENTER RECOVERY.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--Chapter 3 of title 38, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 323. Office of Failing Medical Center Recovery
``(a) Establishment.--(1) There is in the Department an Office of
Failing Medical Center Recovery (in this section referred to as the
`Office'). The head of the Office is the Under Secretary for Failing
Medical Center Recovery.
``(2) The purpose of the Office is to carry out the managerial and
day-to-day operational control of each medical center of the Department
that the Secretary certifies as a failing medical center under
subsection (b)(2).
``(b) Determination of Failing Medical Center.--(1) Not later than
15 days after the end of each fiscal quarter, the Secretary shall
publish in the Federal Register and on a publically available,
searchable Internet website of the Department a compilation of key
health metrics for each medical center of the Department.
``(2) On a semiannual basis, the Secretary shall certify that each
medical center of the Department that is ranked as `failing' under the
key health metrics is a failing medical center and is subject to the
managerial and day-to-day operational control by the Office pursuant to
this section.
``(3) The Secretary shall revoke the certification of a medical
center of the Department as a failing medical center under paragraph
(2) if the medical center achieves a ranking of `satisfactory' or
better under the key health metrics for three consecutive fiscal
quarters.
``(4) The Secretary shall submit to the President and Congress each
certification made under paragraph (2).
``(5) On a quarterly basis, the Secretary shall submit to Congress
a report on the Office, including the actions taken by the Under
Secretary with respect to covered failing medical centers.
``(c) Functions.--(1)(A) The Secretary shall transfer each covered
failing medical center from the direct control of the relevant Veterans
Integrated Service Network to the direct control of the Under
Secretary.
``(B) The Under Secretary, acting through the Office, shall assume
responsibility for and carry out the managerial and day-to-day
operational control of each covered failing medical center.
``(C) In carrying out subparagraph (B), the Under Secretary shall--
``(i) have the duties, responsibilities, and authority for
the covered failing medical center that the director of the
failing medical center had as of the day before the date of the
certification under subsection (b)(2);
``(ii) operate the covered failing medical center
independently from the relevant Veterans Integrated Service
Network; and
``(iii) retain the use of all resources and services that
would otherwise be made available to the covered failing
medical center by the Veterans Integrated Service Network.
``(2)(A) Upon a certification of the Secretary under subsection
(b)(2) with respect to a covered failing medical center, the Under
Secretary shall deploy a rapid deployment team to the covered failing
medical center to carry out this subsection to ensure that the covered
failing medical center achieves satisfactory performance as quickly as
practicable.
``(B) Each rapid deployment team described in subparagraph (A)
shall report directly to the Under Secretary and consist of personnel
with experience in the following:
``(i) Business administration.
``(ii) Human resources.
``(iii) Congressional relations.
``(iv) Acute medical care.
``(v) Non-Department health care.
``(vi) Other professional experience the Under Secretary
determines appropriate.
``(3)(A) The Under Secretary shall have the authority to carry out
adverse actions, including transfers or reassignments, pursuant to this
title or title 5 that are applicable to any employee of a covered
failing medical center, including the director and senior executives.
``(B) The Under Secretary may deem an employee of a covered failing
medical center who is not otherwise covered by section 713 of this
title to be an individual covered by such section for purposes of
removing such individual from the civil service (as defined in section
2101 of title 5).
``(4)(A) The Under Secretary may hire individuals as employees of
the Veterans Health Administration at covered failing medical centers
in positions that the Under Secretary determines are essential to
improving patient care.
``(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in carrying out
subparagraph (A), the Under Secretary may--
``(i) hire employees using the direct-hire authority under
section 3304(a)(3) of title 5; and
``(ii) pay such employees at a prevailing rate that is 125
percent of the rate for such position.
``(d) Administrative Matters.--(1) The Under Secretary shall ensure
that the Office consists of the following personnel, including
personnel of the rapid deployment teams under subsection (c)(2), in a
number the Under Secretary determines appropriate:
``(A) Senior professional staff who have experience--
``(i) in the operational departments of medical
centers of the Department; and
``(ii) necessary to effectively run a medical
center.
``(B) Support staff.
``(2)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in carrying
out paragraph (1), the Under Secretary may--
``(i) hire employees using the direct-hire
authority under section 3304(a)(3) of title 5; and
``(ii) pay such employees at a prevailing rate that
is 125 percent of the rate for such position.
``(B) The Secretary shall ensure that employees of the Department
who serve two years or more in the Office receive preferential
treatment for promotion and advancement within the Department.
``(e) Contracts.--(1) The Under Secretary may use simplified
procedures to award contracts for goods and services that the Under
Secretary determines essential to improving patient care in covered
failing medical centers.
``(2)(A) The Secretary shall include in the quarterly publications
under subsection (b)(1) the amounts described in subparagraph (B),
listed by specialty area.
``(B) The amounts described in this subparagraph are the amounts
that the Secretary--
``(i) is obligated to pay to non-Department facilities (as
defined in section 1701 of this title) that provide care to
veterans under a covered failing medical center pursuant to a
contract entered into by the Secretary; and
``(ii) has not paid by the date that is 90 days after the
date required by chapter 39 of title 31.
``(f) Investigations and Whistleblower Protections.--(1) The
Inspector General of the Department shall prioritize investigations
relating to covered failing medical centers.
``(2) The Office of Accountability Review shall prioritize
investigations of whistleblower retaliation relating to covered failing
medical centers.
``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `covered failing medical center' means a
medical center of the Department that the Secretary certifies
as a failing medical center pursuant to paragraph (2) of such
subsection (b) and has not revoked such certification under
paragraph (3) of such subsection.
``(2) The term `key health metrics' means the following:
``(A) The Strategic Analytics Improvement and
Learning (commonly referred to as `SAIL') data used by
the Department (or such successor data metric).
``(B) A ranking for each medical center of the
Department based on the total data described in
subparagraph (A) for the specific medical center
whereby--
``(i) medical centers in the 90th
percentile are rated as `excellent';
``(ii) medical centers in the 30th to 89th
percentiles are rated as `satisfactory';
``(iii) medical centers in the 4th to 29th
percentiles are rated as `poor'; and
``(iv) medical centers in the 3rd
percentile and below are rated as `failing'.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of chapter 3 of such title is amended by adding after
the item relating to section 322 the following new item:
``323. Office of Failing Medical Center Recovery.''.
(3) Initial key health metrics publication.--The Secretary
shall publish the initial key health metrics under section
323(b)(1) of title 38, United States Code, as added by
paragraph (1), by not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(4) Initial certifications of a failing medical center.--
The Secretary shall make the initial certifications under
section 323(b)(2) of title 38, United States Code, as added by
paragraph (1), by not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act. Such certifications shall cover not
fewer than two and not more than seven medical centers of the
Department of Veterans Affairs.
(b) Under Secretary.--
(1) In general.--Chapter 3 of title 38, United States Code,
is further amended by inserting after section 305 the following
new section:
``Sec. 305A. Under Secretary for Failing Medical Center Recovery
``(a)(1) There is in the Department an Under Secretary for Failing
Medical Center Recovery (in this section referred to as the `Under
Secretary'), who is appointed by the President, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate.
``(2) The Under Secretary shall be appointed without regard to
political affiliation or activity and solely--
``(A) on the basis of demonstrated ability in the medical
profession, in health-care administration and policy
formulation, in health-care fiscal management, or in health-
care operations; and
``(B) on the basis of substantial operational experience in
connection with the programs of the Veterans Health
Administration or programs of similar content and scope.
``(b) The Under Secretary is the head of, and is directly
responsible to the Secretary for the operation of, the Office of
Failing Medical Center Recovery.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of chapter 3 of such title is further amended by
inserting after the item relating to section 305 the following
new item:
``305A. Under Secretary for Failing Medical Center Recovery.''.
(c) Inclusion of Office in Educational Assistance Program.--Chapter
76 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``Veterans Health Administration'' each
place it appears (other than section 7622(b)(1)) and inserting
``Veterans Health Administration or the Office of Failing
Medical Center Recovery''; and
(2) by striking ``section 7401 of this title'' each place
it appears and inserting ``section 7401 or section 323(d) of
this title''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H5531-5532)
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Mr. Abraham moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H628-630)
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3234.
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR H628-629)
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H628-629)
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
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The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.