Department of Veterans Affairs Provider Accountability Act
Latest action · Jan 14, 2020 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.
- IntroducedJan 24, 2019
- Passed SenateDec 19, 2019
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Department of Veterans Affairs Provider Accountability Act
The bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to transmit specified information to the National Practitioner Data Bank and the applicable state licensing board when the VA brings a covered major adverse action against certain appointed VA medical employees. A covered major adverse action is an action originating from circumstances in which the behavior of the employee so substantially failed to meet clinical practice standards that it raised reasonable concern for the safety of patients.
The bill requires the VA to transmit the employee's name and the description of and reason for the covered major adverse action. The VA must also update its credentialing system with a record of covered major adverse actions taken and an indication that information was transmitted as required.
The VA shall enroll certain appointed VA medical employees into a continuous query of their record within the National Practitioner Data Bank and shall implement a mechanism for maintaining and updating the information collected through such query to facilitate the sharing of information between Veterans Integrated Service Networks.
The VA may not enter into a settlement agreement relating to an adverse action by certain appointed VA medical employees under which it would be required to conceal a serious medical error or lapse in generally accepted standards of clinical practice. Such provision shall not apply to a negative record if the VA Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection and the Office of Special Counsel jointly certify that the negative record is not legitimate.
The bill requires the VA to provide mandatory training to all health staff who handle hiring, privileging, and credentialing, regarding all policies of the VA on credentialing, privileging, and when and how to report adverse actions to the relevant entities.
Cosponsors 5
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 24, 2019 to Dec 18, 2019, with 4 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-LA | Bill Cassidy | Original | Jan 24, 2019 |
| R-KS | Jerry Moran | Original | Jan 24, 2019 |
| I-WV | Joe Manchin III | Original | Jan 24, 2019 |
| R-ME | Susan M. Collins | Original | Jan 24, 2019 |
| R-MT | Steve Daines | Dec 18, 2019 |
Actions 11
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 14, 2020Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Dec 23, 2019Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Dec 23, 2019Received in the House.
- Dec 23, 2019Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
- Dec 19, 2019Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S7229-7230)
Amendments 1
Amendments offered to this bill.
| Amendment | Description | Offered by | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| SA 1271 | In the nature of a substitute. | Cory Gardner R-CO | Amendment SA 1271 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent. |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Employee performance
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Government information and archives
- Health care quality
- Health information and medical records
- Health personnel
- Licensing and registrations
- Medical ethics
- Personnel records
- Veterans' medical care
Text 3
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Dec 23, 2019Referred in House
- Dec 19, 2019Engrossed in Senate
- Jan 24, 2019Introduced in Senate
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.