Last week, U.S. Representative Ralph Norman (R-SC) along with U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (R-NC) introduced the Ensuring Quality Care for Our Veterans Act.
This bill, H.R. 4858, would require the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to have a patient’s records reviewed by an independent, non-government medical provider if it is determined that the patient received care from a provider within the VHA system whose license had been previously revoked for cause.
“Our nation has a responsibility to provide the highest levels of care for those who have served our nation. This bill provides specific directives should a veteran receive medical care from a provider who is later found to have been unqualified to practice within the VHA system,” said Rep. Norman.
“As Fort Bragg’s Congressman and a voice for North Carolina’s veterans, I want veterans to have the best health care out there. This legislation is a common sense step to hold accountable providers with a revoked license who treated veterans and to ensure veterans received proper treatment and care,” said Rep. Hudson.
There are thousands of medical providers who care for patients within the VHA system. Those providers must be certified in their field of practice, and must not have had certifications revoked for cause by a State licensing board. While it is extraordinarily rare that a medical provider with a previously revoked license would slip through the VHA hiring process, the fact still remains that across the nation, numerous state agencies and practitioner databases can make it difficult to guarantee the accuracy of all employment records.
Should the VHA become aware of such cases, separate from the appropriate steps the VHA would take to address that provider’s continued employment, this bill would require the VHA act quickly with a thorough and independent review of the care each patient received from that provider.
A companion bill, S. 123, was introduced earlier this year in the United States Senate by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA). It was co-sponsored by Sen. Coons (D-DE), Sen. Grassley (R-IA), Sen. Boozman (R-AR), and Sen. Moor (R-WV).
