Physician Ambassadors Helping Veterans Act
Latest action · May 26, 2015 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedApr 30, 2015
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Physician Ambassadors Helping Veterans Act
Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to use its authority to employ certain personnel without regard to civil service or classification laws, rules, or regulations to employ physicians on a without compensation basis in any practice area or specialty for which: (1) the average waiting time for veterans seeking an appointment with a physician exceeds the VA's waiting time goals, or (2) the VA medical facility where the physician will be employed has demonstrated staffing shortages.
Requires each VA medical facility to have a volunteer coordinator who: (1) seeks to establish relationships with medical associations serving the area, (2) recruits physicians for uncompensated employment at the facility, and (3) serves as the initial point of contact for physicians seeking uncompensated employment at the facility.
Conditions an uncompensated physician's receipt of a credential or privilege to practice medicine in a VA facility on the physician's commitment to serve at least 40 hours in the facility during the ensuing one-year period.
Requires the VA to decide whether to grant an uncompensated physician's request for a credential or privilege to practice medicine in the VA facility within 60 days.
Requires the director of a VA medical facility to approve, and accept the uncompensated services of, any physician who has made the requisite service commitment and receives a credential or privilege to practice medicine in such facility.
Requires the VA to submit annual reports on physicians employed on a without compensation basis. Prohibits any physician employed on such basis from being considered in determining whether there is a staffing shortage throughout the VA with respect to a particular occupation.
Cosponsors 10
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 30, 2015 to Oct 23, 2015, with 4 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-TX | Blake Farenthold | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| R-TX | Jeb Hensarling | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| R-TX | Mac Thornberry | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| R-KS | Tim Huelskamp | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-TX | Beto O'Rourke | Jun 12, 2015 | |
| R-TX | Pete Olson | Jul 15, 2015 | |
| D-GU | Madeleine Z. Bordallo | Sep 9, 2015 | |
| R-WI | Reid J. Ribble | Sep 9, 2015 | |
| R-NC | David Rouzer | Sep 10, 2015 | |
| R-IN | Marlin A. Stutzman | Oct 23, 2015 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 26, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Apr 30, 2015Introduced in House
- Apr 30, 2015Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 563 | Physician Ambassadors Helping Veterans Act | Related bill | Sep 16, 2015 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Health care coverage and access
- Health personnel
- Licensing and registrations
- Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
- Veterans' medical care
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 30, 2015Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.