VA Medical Center Facility Transparency Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1944 To require directors of medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs to submit annual pamphlets to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on the status of such facilities, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 28, 2019 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 facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs to submit annual pamphlets to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on the status of such facili- ties, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘VA Medical Center 4 Facility Transparency Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:33 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1944.IH H1944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1944 IH SEC. 2. INFORMATION ON MEDICAL FACILITIES OF THE DE- 1 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 2 (a) ANNUAL PAMPHLETS.—The Secretary of Vet- 3 erans Affairs shall ensure that each director of a medical 4 facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs submits to 5 the Secretary, the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the 6 House of Representatives and the Senate, and the appro- 7 priate Members of Congress an annual concise, easy-to- 8 read pamphlet containing, with respect to the fiscal year 9 covered by the pamphlet, the following: 10 (1) Statistics regarding— 11 (A) how many veterans were treated at the 12 facility; 13 (B) the most common illnesses or condi- 14 tions for which treatment was furnished; 15 (C) the average wait time for veterans to 16 receive treatment; and 17 (D) other matters the director determines 18 appropriate. 19 (2) A description of any successes or achieve- 20 ments experienced by the facility, including actions 21 taken to improve the facility and the care provided 22 at the facility. 23 (3) A brief plan to improve the facility, includ- 24 ing— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:33 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1944.IH H1944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1944 IH (A) any resources that the director antici- 1 pates requesting to carry out the plan; and 2 (B) a summary of any resources received 3 by the director during the previous fiscal year. 4 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Each pamphlet under subsection 5 (a) shall be made publicly available— 6 (1) in a physical form at the relevant medical 7 facility of the Department in a conspicuous location; 8 and 9 (2) in an electronic form on the internet website 10 of the facility. 11 (c) TIMING.—The pamphlets under subsection (a) 12 shall be submitted during the first fiscal year beginning 13 after the date that is 90 days after the date of the enact- 14 ment of this Act and not less frequently than once each 15 fiscal year thereafter. 16 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 17 (1) The term ‘‘appropriate Members of Con- 18 gress’’ means, with respect to a medical facility of 19 the Department of Veterans Affairs about which a 20 pamphlet is submitted under subsection (a), the 21 Senators representing the State, and the Member, 22 Delegate, or Resident Commissioner of the House of 23 Representatives representing the district, that in- 24 cludes the medical facility. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:33 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1944.IH H1944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1944 IH (2) The term ‘‘resources’’ includes funding, hir- 1 ing authorities, additional staffing, personnel 2 changes, construction, information technology, and 3 other authorities, property, or services to improve a 4 medical facility of the Department of Veterans Af- 5 fairs. 6 (3) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 7 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 8 of Puerto Rico, and any territory or possession of 9 the United States. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:33 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1944.IH H1944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS