,,ii ,calendar ,no4 #dab #aafth         
,,congress  #b;d ,session  ,s4 #dej     
,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united 
,,states  ,february #ab1 #bjai,mr4      
,gardner 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,peters1 and
 ,mr4 ,daines7 introduced the following 
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs
  ,february #e1 #bjbj,reported by ,mr4  
,moran1 with an amendment and an        
amendment to the title,strike out all   
after the enacting clause and insert the
 part printed in italic  ,a ,,bill  ,to 
require the ,secretary of ,veterans     
,affairs to carry out a pilot program to
 expedite the onboarding process for new
 medical providers of the ,department of
 ,veterans ,affairs1 to reduce the      
duration of the hiring process for such 
medical providers1 and for other        
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,veterans ,improved 
,access and ,care ,act of #bjai4  #b4   
,pilot program on expediting the        
,department of ,veterans ,affairs       

process for onboarding new medical      
providers  7a7 ,pilot program authorized
  7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of   
,veterans ,affairs shall carry out a    
pilot program to assess the feasibility 
and advisability of expediting the      
process of the ,veterans ,health        
,administration for onboarding new      
medical providers4  7#b7 ,goal for      
program ,under the pilot program1 the   
,secretary shall seek to reduce the     
length of time it takes to onboard      
medical providers to no more than #fj   
days4  7b7 ,locations  7#a7 ,in general 
,the ,secretary shall select not fewer  
than ten medical facilities of the      
,department of ,veterans ,affairs at    
which to carry out the pilot program4   
7#b7 ,regional diversity ,the medical   
facilities selected under paragraph 7#a7
 shall be located in regionally diverse 
areas1 as determined by the ,secretary4 
7#c7 ,priority ,in selecting medical    
facilities under paragraph 7#a71 the    
,secretary shall give priority to       

medical facilities facing hiring        
shortages of licensed independent       
medical providers4  7c7 ,onboarding     
process defined ,in this section1 the   
term onboarding process means the       
process of bringing on a medical        
provider applicant after the medical    
provider is offered a tentative         
position1 including certification of    
credentialing1 background investigation1
 assessment of health status1 and such  
other actions as are necessary for      
starting employment4  #c4 ,strategy to  
reduce duration of hiring process of    
,department of ,veterans ,affairs for   
licensed professional medical providers 
7a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj    
days after the date of the enactment of 
this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans  
,affairs shall submit to ,congress a    
strategy to reduce the duration of the  
hiring process of the ,department of    
,veterans ,affairs for licensed         
professional medical providers by half4 
7b7 ,expedited certification ,the       

strategy submitted under subsection 7a7 
shall describe how the overall          
certification of credentials process of 
the ,department for licensed            
professional medical providers can be   
expedited4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act 
may be cited as the ,veterans ,improved 
,access and ,care ,act of #bjbj4  #b4   
,expansion of quarterly update of       
information on staffing and vacancies at
 facilities of the ,department of       
,veterans ,affairs to include           
information on duration of hiring       
process  7a7 ,quarterly update          
,subsection 7a77#a7 of section #eje of  
the ,,va ,,mission ,act of #bjah        
7,public ,law #aae-ahb2 #ch ,u4,s4,c4   
#cja note7 is amended by adding at the  
end the following new subparagraph3     
7,e7 ,beginning with any update under   
paragraph 7#c7 on or after the date of  
the enactment of the ,veterans ,improved
 ,access and ,care ,act of #bjbj1 the   
following3 7i7 ,for employees appointed 
under paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#c7 of       

section #gdja of title #ch1 ,united     
,states ,code1 the number of employees  
for which the duration of the process   
from validation of vacancy to receipt of
 official offer and notification of     
actual start date exceeds the metrics   
laid out in the ,time to ,hire ,model of
 the ,veterans ,health ,administration1 
or successor model4  7ii7 ,the          
percentage of employees who are         
described in clause 7i7 compared to all 
employees appointed under paragraphs    
7#a7 and 7#c7 of section #gdja of such  
title during the same period4  7iii7    
,the average number of days potential   
hires or new hires appointed under      
paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#c7 of section     
#gdja of such title spent in each phase 
of the ,time to ,hire ,model1 or        
successor model4  4  7b7 ,reduction in  
frequency of ,inspector ,general reviews
 ,subsection 7a77#e7 of such section is 
amended by striking a semi-annual basis 
and inserting an annual basis4  7c7     
,annual report ,subsection 7b7 of such  

section is amended1 in the first        
sentence1 by adding before the period at
 the end the following3 and to improve  
the onboard timeline for facilities for 
which the duration of the onboarding    
process exceeds the metrics laid out in 
the ,time to ,hire ,model of the        
,veterans ,health ,administration1 or   
successor model4  ,amend the title so as
 to read3 ,a bill to amend the ,,va     
,,mission ,act of #bjah to expand the   
quarterly update of information on      
staffing and vacancies at facilities of 
the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs1  
and for other purposes44 ,february #e1  
#bjbj,reported with an amendment and an 
amendment to the title