,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #cjda ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #ab1 #bjai,ms4 ,hassan 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,ernst1 and ,ms4 ,sinema7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to amend title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 to ensure that medical professionals employed by the ,veterans ,health ,administration are properly credentialed1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,veterans ,health ,administration ,caregiver ,retention and ,eligibility ,determination ,act of #bjai or the ,,vha ,,cred ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,findings2 ,sense of ,congress 7a7 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,a report prepared by the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states in #bjai entitled ,veterans ,health ,administration3 ,greater ,focus on ,credentialing ,needed to ,prevent ,disqualified ,providers from ,delivering ,patient ,care 7,,gao-#ai-f7 7in this subsection referred to as the ,report7 troublingly found that facilities of the ,veterans ,health ,administration lack adequate safeguards to ensure that veterans are not treated by health care providers whose licenses have been revoked or surrendered for cause4 7#b7 ,the ,report reviewed #eg health care providers at facilities of the ,veterans ,health ,administration across the ,united ,states who had an issue reported on the ,national ,practitioner ,data ,bank1 such as prior instances of poor patient care1 disregard for public safety1 substance misuse1 or unprofessional conduct4 7#c7 ,although the ,veterans ,health ,administration requires all health care providers to be credentialed by personnel of the ,administration prior to providing care to veterans1 the ,report revealed disturbing lapses and inconsistencies in adherence to that policy due in part to a lack of mandatory training for credentialing personnel4 7#d7 ,in addition to endangering the care of veterans at facilities of the ,veterans ,health ,administration1 the hiring of health care providers who lack proper credentials wastes time and financial resources of the ,administration4 7b7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 without the implementation of uniform policies for credentialing health care providers and a periodic review of all provider credentials1 the ,veterans ,health ,administration will continue to hire or retain providers who lack proper credentials to the detriment of patients seeking the services of the ,administration2 and 7#b7 the ,veterans ,health ,administration must act swiftly to ensure that-- 7,a7 all health care providers are properly credentialed2 7,b7 all credentialing personnel are properly trained to identify adverse actions in the history of a provider that are disqualifying2 and 7,c7 all ,veterans ,integrated ,service ,networks1 and the facilities that comprise those networks1 are able to communicate credentialing information to other networks or facilities to avoid hiring health care providers who lack proper credentials4 #c4 ,improvement of provider credentialing practices of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs through training and transparency 7a7 ,in general ,section #gdjb of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7h7 7#a7 ,the ,under ,secretary for ,health shall prescribe regulations1 administrative guidance1 and management controls applicable to the credentialing of persons appointed to a position under this section and1 to the maximum extent feasible1 provide advice1 assistance1 and guidance to personnel of the ,administration to improve the credentialing process and ensure that all persons appointed to such a position meet the qualifications for that position4 7#b7 7,a7 ,the ,under ,secretary for ,health shall require that all personnel of the ,administration who verify credentials for persons appointed under this section1 review qualifications for such persons1 or hire such persons periodically undergo training to review relevant law and policy regarding provider qualifications for employment with the ,administration4 7,b7 ,training required under subparagraph 7,a7 for personnel described in that subparagraph shall include-- 7i7 the establishment of uniform credentialing standards and protocols for all facilities of the ,administration2 7ii7 training on laws and regulations relating to health care providers in the area in which the personnel are located and how those laws and regulations should be considered in the credentialing process2 and 7iii7 any other information that the ,under ,secretary for ,health considers relevant to include for the benefit of the personnel or those served by the ,administration4 7,c7 ,all newly hired personnel described in subparagraph 7,a7 shall complete training under this paragraph before being allowed to verify credentials for persons appointed under this section1 review qualifications for such persons1 or hire such persons4 7,d7 ,the ,under ,secretary for ,health shall review and update training under this paragraph according to changes in law1 guidance issued by the ,under ,secretary1 or any other circumstance that affects the content of the training4 7#c7 ,the ,under ,secretary for ,health-- 7,a7 shall enroll all persons appointed under this section in continuous query of their record within the ,national ,practitioner ,data ,bank2 and 7,b7 shall develop and implement a mechanism for monitoring the continuous query described in subparagraph 7,a7 and updating credential information of persons appointed under this section within the ,vet,pro ,system1 or successor system1 to facilitate the sharing of credential information between ,veterans ,integrated ,service ,networks and facilities of the ,administration4 7#d7 7,a7 ,not less frequently than annually1 the ,under ,secretary for ,health shall submit to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs and the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs and the ,committee on ,oversight and ,reform of the ,house of ,representatives an audit of all persons employed by the ,administration pursuant to an appointment described in this section who have an adverse action reported on the ,national ,practitioner ,data ,bank4 7,b7 ,the audit required under subparagraph 7,a7 shall include for each person covered by the audit the following3 7i7 ,the ,veterans ,integrated ,service ,network and ,state where the person works or worked4 7ii7 ,the occupation of the person4 7iii7 ,the date the person was hired and the date of removal or resignation of the person1 if applicable4 7iv7 ,a brief summary of the report provided by the ,national ,practitioner ,data ,bank describing the lack of qualifications1 disciplinary actions1 or adverse findings with respect to the person that impact the ability of the person to perform the duties of the position to which the person was appointed under this section4 7v7 ,the response of the ,under ,secretary for ,health to the report under clause 7iv7 regarding the eligibility of the person to continue employment at the ,administration1 including a brief explanation or citation of relevant policy of the ,administration used in making such response4 7,c7 ,nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to require the disclosure of information that is otherwise protected from mandatory disclosure by law4 4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendment made by this section shall take effect #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act4