G:\M\16\MEADOW\MEADOW_054.XML ∼115H7105 ..................................................................... (Original Signature of Member) H. R. ll 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure that certain health care contractors of the Department of Veterans Affairs are subject to Federal tort claims laws, to improve the accountability of physicians of the Department, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Mr. MEADOWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on llllllllllllll A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure that certain health care contractors of the Department of Veterans Affairs are subject to Federal tort claims laws, to improve the accountability of physicians of the Department, and for other purposes. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Brian Tally VA Med- 5 ical Care and Liability Improvement Act’’. g:\VHLC\060519\060519.655.xml June 5, 2019 (5:52 p.m.) VerDate Mar 15 2010 17:52 Jun 05, 2019 Jkt 000000 (727504 4) PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\USERS\AJSCIASCIA\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\7.0\GEN\C\MEADOW_ G:\M\16\MEADOW\MEADOW_054.XML 2 1 SEC. 2. ACCOUNTABILITY OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS AT 2 FACILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET- 3 ERANS AFFAIRS. 4 (a) TREATMENT OF CONTRACTORS UNDER FEDERAL 5 TORT CLAIMS LAWS.—Section 7316 of title 38, United 6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing new subsection: 8 ‘‘(g)(1)(A) Except as provided by paragraph (2), this 9 section shall not apply with respect to civil actions or other 10 proceedings brought by an individual, or the estate of an 11 individual, for damages for personal injury, including 12 death, allegedly arising from malpractice or negligence of 13 a non-Department provider if the Secretary notifies the 14 individual, or the estate of the individual, of the following: 15 ‘‘(i) The involvement of the non-Depart- 16 ment provider in the health care furnished to 17 the individual. 18 ‘‘(ii) The nature of such health care fur- 19 nished to the individual by the non-Department 20 provider. 21 ‘‘(iii) The full name of the non-Department 22 provider. 23 ‘‘(iv) The fact that the notification is made 24 pursuant to this paragraph. 25 ‘‘(v) A statement that applicable State law 26 may provide for a civil action or other pro- g:\VHLC\060519\060519.655.xml June 5, 2019 (5:52 p.m.) VerDate Mar 15 2010 17:52 Jun 05, 2019 Jkt 000000 (727504 4) PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\USERS\AJSCIASCIA\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\7.0\GEN\C\MEADOW_ G:\M\16\MEADOW\MEADOW_054.XML 3 1 ceeding by the individual, or the estate of the 2 individual, against the non-Department pro- 3 vider, including information that specifies any 4 statute of limitations for such applicable State 5 law. 6 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall make each notification 7 under subparagraph (A) not later than 30 days after the 8 date on which an individual or estate files a claim pursu9 ant to section 2675 of title 28, United States Code. The 10 Secretary shall make such notification using certified mail 11 (with either return receipt requested or other means of 12 verification that the notification was sent) to the indi13 vidual or the estate, and to any attorney of the individual 14 or the estate representing the individual or the estate with 15 respect to such claim. 16 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary does not make the notification 17 required by paragraph (1) during the period required by 18 that paragraph with respect to civil actions or other pro19 ceedings brought by an individual, or the estate of an indi20 vidual, for damages for personal injury, including death, 21 allegedly arising from malpractice or negligence of a non22 Department provider, the non-Department provider shall 23 be treated as if the provider were a health care employee 24 of the Administration with respect to the health care or g:\VHLC\060519\060519.655.xml June 5, 2019 (5:52 p.m.) VerDate Mar 15 2010 17:52 Jun 05, 2019 Jkt 000000 (727504 4) PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\USERS\AJSCIASCIA\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\7.0\GEN\C\MEADOW_ G:\M\16\MEADOW\MEADOW_054.XML 4 1 treatment furnished by that provider in a facility of the 2 Department to the individual. 3 ‘‘(3) If a non-Department provider described in para- 4 graph (2) is the defendant employee of a civil action or 5 proceeding pursuant to this section, any claim of that pro6 vider for benefits under an insurance policy with respect 7 to medical malpractice relating to such civil action or pro8 ceeding shall be subrogated to the United States. 9 ‘‘(4)(A) If a non-Department provider described in 10 paragraph (1) or (2) is the defendant employee of at least 11 three separate covered cases during a five-year period, the 12 Secretary— 13 ‘‘(i) shall revoke the provider’s authoriza- 14 tion to provide health care or treatment at a fa- 15 cility of the Department; and 16 ‘‘(ii) may not enter into any contract or 17 agreement that authorizes the provider to pro- 18 vide health care or treatment at a facility of the 19 Department. 20 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall establish a process by which 21 a non-Department provider may appeal an action under 22 subparagraph (A). 23 ‘‘(5) In this subsection: 24 25 ‘‘(A) The term ‘covered case’ means any of the following: g:\VHLC\060519\060519.655.xml June 5, 2019 (5:52 p.m.) VerDate Mar 15 2010 17:52 Jun 05, 2019 Jkt 000000 (727504 4) PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\USERS\AJSCIASCIA\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\7.0\GEN\C\MEADOW_ G:\M\16\MEADOW\MEADOW_054.XML 5 1 ‘‘(i) A civil action or proceeding pursuant 2 to this section that resulted in a judgment 3 against the United States, or such an action or 4 proceeding that the United States compromises 5 or settles. 6 ‘‘(ii) A civil action or proceeding pursuant 7 to State law for personal injury, including 8 death, allegedly arising from malpractice or 9 negligence that resulted in a judgment against 10 a non-Department provider, or such an action 11 or proceeding that the non-Department provider 12 compromises or settles. 13 ‘‘(B) The term ‘non-Department provider’ 14 means a health care provider who is not an employee 15 of the Federal Government but who is authorized by 16 the Secretary to provide health care or treatment at 17 a facility of the Department pursuant to a contract 18 or other agreement.’’. 19 (b) NOTIFICATIONS AND OUTREACH REGARDING 20 FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS.—Such section, as amended by 21 subsection (a), is further amended by adding at the end 22 the following new subsections: 23 ‘‘(h) Not later than 30 days following the date on 24 which a judgment is entered against the United States in 25 a civil action or proceeding pursuant to this section, the g:\VHLC\060519\060519.655.xml June 5, 2019 (5:52 p.m.) VerDate Mar 15 2010 17:52 Jun 05, 2019 Jkt 000000 (727504 4) PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\USERS\AJSCIASCIA\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\7.0\GEN\C\MEADOW_ G:\M\16\MEADOW\MEADOW_054.XML 6 1 Secretary shall notify the following entities with respect 2 to such judgment: 3 ‘‘(1) The appropriate licensing entity of each 4 State in which a defendant employee is licensed as 5 a health care professional. 6 ‘‘(2) The National Practitioner Data Bank es- 7 tablished pursuant to the Health Care Quality Im- 8 provement Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 11101 et seq.). 9 ‘‘(i) The Secretary shall publish in a clear and con- 10 spicuous manner on the internet website of the Depart11 ment an explanation of the rights of an individual under 12 this section, including— 13 ‘‘(1) an explanation of the procedure to file an 14 administrative claim pursuant to section 515 of this 15 title or section 2675 of title 28; 16 ‘‘(2) the circumstances under which an indi- 17 vidual may file a civil action or proceeding pursuant 18 to this section; and 19 ‘‘(3) time limits that can bar recovery under 20 this section.’’. 21 (c) ACCOUNTABILITY 22 PARTMENT.—Section PHYSICIANS OF THE DE- 7461 of such title is amended— 23 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 24 following new sentence: ‘‘The Under Secretary shall 25 bring such charges based on professional conduct or g:\VHLC\060519\060519.655.xml June 5, 2019 (5:52 p.m.) VerDate Mar 15 2010 OF 17:52 Jun 05, 2019 Jkt 000000 (727504 4) PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\USERS\AJSCIASCIA\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\7.0\GEN\C\MEADOW_ G:\M\16\MEADOW\MEADOW_054.XML 7 1 competence against a section 7401(1) employee who 2 is the defendant employee of at least three separate 3 civil actions or proceedings pursuant to section 7316 4 of this title that, within a five-year period— 5 6 ‘‘(1) resulted in a judgment against the United States; or 7 8 ‘‘(2) were compromised or settled by the United States.’’; and 9 10 (2) in subsection (c)(3), by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 11 ‘‘(C) The provision of care subject to a civil ac- 12 tion or proceeding pursuant to section 7316 of this 13 title that— 14 ‘‘(i) resulted in a judgment against the 15 United States; or 16 ‘‘(ii) is compromised or settled by the 17 18 United States.’’. (d) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 19 section shall take effect with respect to actions or omis20 sions covered under section 7316 of title 38, United States 21 Code, occurring on or after the date of the enactment of 22 this Act. g:\VHLC\060519\060519.655.xml June 5, 2019 (5:52 p.m.) VerDate Mar 15 2010 17:52 Jun 05, 2019 Jkt 000000 (727504 4) PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\USERS\AJSCIASCIA\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\7.0\GEN\C\MEADOW_