S. 221 · 116th Congress
Department of Veterans Affairs Provider Accountability Act
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Passed the Senate without a recorded vote, then expired. It passed by voice vote or unanimous consent, which don't record how each member voted, but didn't become law before the 116th Congress ended.
R
GardnerSponsor5 cosponsors · 1 D, 4 R
4 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
- Senate Introduced Jan 24, 2019
- Senate Passed Dec 19, 2019
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.
What it does: CRS summary · Passed Senate · Dec 19, 2019
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.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Department of Veterans Affairs Provider Accountability Act
Latest action (Jan 14, 2020): Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Jan 24, 2019
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
- Senate Introduced Jan 24, 2019
- Senate Passed Dec 19, 2019
No recorded floor vote found.