VA Medical Center Facility Transparency Act

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1089 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1089

 To require directors of medical centers of the Department of Veterans 
   Affairs to submit annual fact sheets to the Secretary of Veterans 
   Affairs on the status of such facilities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 17, 2023

    Mrs. Lesko (for herself and Mrs. Lee of Nevada) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require directors of medical centers of the Department of Veterans 
   Affairs to submit annual fact sheets to the Secretary of Veterans 
   Affairs on the status of such facilities, 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 ``VA Medical Center Facility 
Transparency Act''.

SEC. 2. INFORMATION ON MEDICAL FACILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
              AFFAIRS.

    (a) Fact Sheets.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure 
that each director of a medical center of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs submits to the Secretary, the Committees on Veterans' Affairs 
of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the appropriate 
Members of Congress the following:
            (1) An annual concise, easy-to-read fact sheet containing, 
        with respect to the year covered by the fact sheet each of the 
        following:
                    (A) Statistics regarding--
                            (i) the number of veterans who were treated 
                        at a medical facility of the Department under 
                        the jurisdiction of the director;
                            (ii) the number of appointments conducted 
                        by each such facility;
                            (iii) the most common illnesses or 
                        conditions for which treatment was furnished;
                            (iv) the satisfaction of veterans who were 
                        treated at each such facility;
                            (v) how each such facility compares with 
                        other facilities with respect to the 
                        satisfaction of veterans who were treated at 
                        the facilities; and
                            (vi) other matters the director determines 
                        appropriate.
                    (B) A description of any successes or achievements 
                experienced by such facilities, including--
                            (i) actions taken to improve such 
                        facilities;
                            (ii) actions taken to improve the access to 
                        and quality of the care provided at such 
                        facilities; and
                            (iii) any other accomplishments determined 
                        appropriate by the director.
                    (C) A description of special areas of emphasis or 
                specialization by such facilities, such as efforts 
                aimed at meeting the needs of women veterans, suicide 
                prevention and other mental health initiatives, opioid 
                abuse prevention and pain management, or special 
                efforts on veteran homelessness, or other matters as 
                the director determines appropriate.
                    (D) A description of matters concerning such 
                facilities that have previously been identified as 
                deficient and needing remediation that are still in 
                need of such remediation.
            (2) A quarterly fact sheet containing, with respect to the 
        quarter covered by the fact sheet, the average wait time for 
        veterans to receive treatment at the medical facility of the 
        Department under the jurisdiction of the director.
    (b) Availability.--Each fact sheet under subsection (a) shall be 
made publicly available--
            (1) in a physical form at the relevant medical facility of 
        the Department in a conspicuous location; and
            (2) in an electronic form on the internet website of the 
        facility.
    (c) Timing of Fact Sheets.--The fact sheets under subsection (a) 
shall be submitted during the first fiscal year beginning after the 
date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and 
not less frequently than--
            (1) once each fiscal year thereafter with respect to the 
        annual fact sheet under paragraph (1) of such subsection; and
            (2) once each fiscal quarter thereafter with respect to the 
        quarterly fact sheet under paragraph (2) of such subsection.
    (d) Standardized Format.--The Secretary shall establish a standard 
format for the fact sheets under subsection (a) to ensure that each 
director of a medical center of the Department carries out such 
subsection in a consistent manner.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``appropriate Members of Congress'' means, 
        with respect to a medical facility of the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs about which a fact sheet is submitted under 
        subsection (a), the Senators representing the State, and the 
        Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner of the House of 
        Representatives representing the district, that includes the 
        facility.
            (2) The term ``State'' means each of the several States, 
        the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and 
        any territory or possession of the United States.
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