,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bffa ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #aa1 #bjac ,mr4 ,mc,carthy of ,california 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,coffman1 ,mr4 ,mc,keon1 ,mr4 ,hunter1 ,mr4 ,campbell1 ,mrs4 ,davis of ,california1 ,mr4 ,calvert1 and ,mr4 ,issa7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs to establish a standardized scheduling policy for veterans enrolled in the health care system of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,veterans ,access to ,timely ,medical ,appointments ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs is statutorily obligated to provide eligible individuals who served in the ,armed ,forces with access to health care and benefits provided by the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs related to such service4 7#b7 ,the ,secretary has given the ,department the goal of scheduling a primary care medical appointment within seven days of the date requested by the patient and or the provider and scheduling a specialty care medical appointment within fourteen days of the date requested by the patient and or the provider4 7#c7 ,the ability of the ,secretary to accurately schedule and provide timely access to medical appointments is critical to ensure the health care needs of veterans are met and medical conditions do not worsen because of delays in receiving medical treatment4 7#d7 ,an audit by the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states found that medical appointment wait times reported by the ,veterans ,health ,administration of the ,department are unreliable4 7#e7 ,the ,comptroller ,general found that without reliable measurement of how long patients are waiting for medical appointments1 the ,secretary is not able to identify areas that need improvement and therefore cannot mitigate problems that contribute to wait times4 7#f7 ,the ,comptroller ,general found that the unreliable data and measures for wait times create a discrepancy between the positive results the ,department publishes and what veterans actually experience4 7#g7 ,the ,comptroller ,general found that the ,veterans ,health ,administration inconsistently implements its scheduling policy across medical centers of the ,department1 which impedes scheduling timely medical appointments4 7#h7 ,the ,comptroller ,general found that oversight of compliance with such scheduling policy1 such as ensuring the completion of required scheduler training1 was inconsistent across facilities4 7#i7 ,the ,comptroller ,general found that the management by the ,secretary of telephone service1 including lack of staff dedicated to answering phones and unreturned phone calls1 impede veterans' access to timely medical appointments4 7#aj7 ,among the four medical centers of the ,department reviewed by the ,comptroller ,general1 patient complaints regarding unreturned phone calls ranked among the top two categories of complaints during fiscal year #bjab4 7#aa7 ,the ,comptroller ,general found that in ,january #bjab1 the ,veterans ,health ,administration distributed best practices for telephone access that1 if implemented1 could help improve telephone access to clinical care4 7#ab7 ,the ,secretary is not meeting the statutory obligations of the ,secretary to provide veterans with timely access to medical appointments so that such veterans can receive benefits and health care by the ,department in a timely manner4 #c4 ,improvement of medical appointment scheduling policy for veterans 7a7 ,standardized scheduling policy 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall implement a standardized policy to ensure that a veteran enrolled in the health care system established under section #agje7;a7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is able to schedule-- 7,a7 primary care medical appointments within seven days of the date requested by the veteran or the health care provider on behalf of the veteran2 and 7,b7 specialty care medical appointments within #ad days of the date requested by the veteran or the health care provider on behalf of the veteran4 7#b7 ,implementation ,in implementing the policy under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 ensure that such policy-- 7i7 will not be subject to interpretation or prone to scheduler error2 and 7ii7 provides the ,secretary with reliable data regarding the length of time that veterans are waiting for appointments described in paragraph 7#a7 that the ,secretary can use to accurately report the performance of the policy as compared to the goals of the policy2 7,b7 ensure that the ,veterans ,health ,administration carries out uniform procedures with respect to such policy2 7,c7 issue detailed guidance to the directors of the ,veterans ,integrated ,service ,networks to ensure the consistent implementation of such policy at each medical center and other related facilities of the ,department2 7,d7 ensure that only employees of the ,department who have completed required training are allowed to schedule medical appointments2 and 7,e7 make public annual performance reports for each ,veterans ,integrated ,service ,network with respect to such policy4 7b7 ,resource allocation 7#a7 ,assessment ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and each #ahj-;day period thereafter1 the ,secretary shall assess the resources of each ,veterans ,integrated ,service ,network to determine the ability of the ,network to meet the scheduling requirements described in subsection 7a77#a74 7#b7 ,allocation ,the ,secretary may reprogram funds and allocate or transfer staff and other resources within the ,veterans ,health ,administration and the ,veterans ,integrated ,service ,network to ensure that each ,network meets the scheduling requirements described in subsection 7a77#a74 7#c7 ,notification ,the ,secretary shall notify ,congress of any reprogramming made pursuant to paragraph 7#b74 7c7 ,phone access ,the ,secretary shall direct each medical center of the ,department to provide oversight of telephone access and implement the best practices outlined in the telephone systems improvement guide of the ,veterans ,health ,administration1 including1 at a minimum1 practices to ensure that-- 7#a7 calls are answered in a timely manner and the messages of patients will have a return call not later than #bd hours after the patient leaves the message2 and 7#b7 a call center at each such medical center is properly staffed to meet the needs of the veteran population served by the medical center4 7d7 ,inspector ,general report ,the ,inspector ,general of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 in consultation with veterans service organizations1 shall submit to ,congress an annual report on the progress of the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs in implementing this ,act4 ,each such report shall include1 for the time period covered by the report1 each of the following3 7#a7 ,an assessment of the reliability of data regarding the wait times for appointments described in paragraph 7#a7 of subsection 7a7 as required by paragraph 7#b77;,a77ii7 of such subsection4 7#b7 ,an assessment of the extent to which the ,secretary met the telephone call timeframes as required by subsection 7c74 7#c7 ,an assessment of the extent to which medical appointments scheduled at ,department medical facilities reflect the date that the veteran 7or health care provider on behalf of the veteran7 requests for such appoint4 7#d7 ,as assessment of the extent to which medical appointments scheduled at ,department medical facilities were not changed within the scheduling system of the ,veterans ,health ,administration unless such changes were requested by the veteran 7or health care provider on behalf of the veteran74