Integrated Electronic Health Records (iEHR) for Military and Veterans Act

Summary: Integrated Electronic Health Records (iEHR) for Military and Veterans Act - Directs the Secretaries of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) to jointly carry out a program to award a cash prize ($50 million) and contract to an entity that develops a fully-integrated electronic health records program for national use by DOD and VA. Directs the Secretaries to: (1) widely advertise the prize competitions and announce each one in the Federal Register, and (2) create a joint panel to establish criteria for the program's development. Requires the prize recipient to be awarded a contract with DOD and VA to provide the program, including maintenance and support, and to be compensated at $25 million per year for five years. Reverts to the federal government, after such period, any intellectual property developed under the contract. Authorizes the Secretaries to require competition participants to waive claims against the federal government (except for willful conduct) arising from such participation, and requires participants to obtain liability insurance therefor.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Integrated Electronic Health Records 
(iEHR) for Military and Veterans Act''.

SEC. 2. PRIZE PROGRAM FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FULLY-INTEGRATED 
              ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS PROGRAM FOR USE BY THE 
              DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
              AFFAIRS.

    (a) Prize Authority.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary 
        of Veterans Affairs shall jointly carry out a program to award 
        a cash prize in the amount of $50,000,000 and contract to an 
        entity that develops a fully-integrated electronic health 
        records program for national use by the Department of Defense 
        and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
            (2) Advertising and solicitation of competitors.--
                    (A) Advertising.--The Secretaries shall widely 
                advertise prize competitions under this section to 
                encourage broad participation by researchers, large and 
                small businesses, institutions of higher education, and 
                any other qualified applicants, including veterans.
                    (B) Announcement through federal register notice.--
                The Secretaries shall announce each prize competition 
                under this section by publishing a notice in the 
                Federal Register. This notice shall include essential 
                elements of the competition such as the subject of the 
                competition, the duration of the competition, the 
                eligibility requirements for participation in the 
                competition, the process for participants to register 
                for the competition, the amount of the prize, and the 
                criteria for awarding the prize and contract.
            (3) Announcement of prizes.--The Secretary may not issue a 
        notice required by paragraph (2)(B) until all the funds needed 
        to pay out the announced amount of the prize have been 
        appropriated.
    (b) Eligibility.--To be eligible to win a prize under this section, 
an individual or entity--
            (1) shall have complied with all the requirements in 
        accordance with the Federal Register notice required under 
        subsection (a)(2)(B);
            (2) in the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated 
        in and maintain a primary place of business in the United 
        States, and in the case of an individual, whether participating 
        singly or in a group, shall be a citizen of, or an alien 
        lawfully admitted for permanent residence in, the United 
        States; and
            (3) shall not be a Federal entity, a Federal employee 
        acting within the scope of his employment, or an employee of a 
        national laboratory acting within the scope of his employment.
    (c) Joint Panel.--
            (1) Establishment.--The Secretary of Defense and the 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish a joint panel to 
        establish the criteria for the development of a fully-
        integrated electronic health records program eligible for an 
        award and contract under this section to ensure that the 
        program meets the requirements of the Department of Defense and 
        the Department of Veterans Affairs.
            (2) Membership.--
                    (A) In general.--The members of the joint panel 
                shall be--
                            (i) one physician from each of the military 
                        departments, to be appointed by the Secretary 
                        of the military department concerned;
                            (ii) two physicians employed by the 
                        Department of Veterans Affairs, to be appointed 
                        by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; and
                            (iii) two representatives of the Veterans 
                        Benefits Administration of the Department of 
                        Veterans Affairs, to be appointed by the 
                        Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
                    (B) Deadline for appointment.--Members of the joint 
                panel shall be appointed by not later than 14 days 
                after the date of the enactment of this Act. Any member 
                who is not appointed by such deadline shall not be 
                appointed to the panel.
            (3) Deadline for criteria.--The joint panel shall establish 
        criteria with sufficient specificity for development, taking 
        best practices of private and public electronic health records 
        under consideration. If the panel fails to agree on such 
        criteria or if an insufficient number of members are appointed 
        to the panel before the deadline under paragraph (2)(B), the 
        National Health Information Technology Coordinator shall 
        determine such criteria, taking best practices of private and 
        public electronic health record systems into consideration.
    (d) Deadline for Submissions.--The deadline for the submission of 
an application to participate in the competition under this section is 
the date that is one year after the date on which the criteria are 
established under subsection (c), or if such date falls on a weekend, 
the next weekday following such date.
    (e) Award Selection.--The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall award prizes under this section on the basis of 
the criteria published in the notice required under subsection 
(a)(2)(B).
    (f) Contract.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
entity that is awarded a prize under this section shall be awarded a 
contract with the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans 
Affairs to provide the fully-integrated electronic health records 
program for which the prize is awarded to the Departments and to 
provide maintenance and support for such program for a five-year period 
and under such contract shall be compensated in an amount of 
$25,000,000 for each year.
    (g) Intellectual Property.--
            (1) Treatment of winning intellectual property.--Upon the 
        expiration of the contract referred to in subsection (e) the 
        intellectual property rights in the fully-integrated electronic 
        health records program for which a prize is awarded under this 
        section shall revert to the Federal Government. The entity that 
        is awarded a prize under this section shall retain the 
        intellectual property rights in any upgrades to the program 
        developed by the entity.
            (2) Other intellectual property.--Except as provided in 
        paragraph (1), the Federal Government shall not, by virtue of 
        offering or awarding a prize under this section, be entitled to 
        any intellectual property rights derived as a consequence of, 
        or direct relation to, the participation by a registered 
        participant in a competition authorized by this section. This 
        subsection shall not be construed to prevent the Federal 
        Government from negotiating a license for the use of 
        intellectual property developed for a prize competition under 
        this section.
    (h) Liability.--
            (1) Waiver of liability.--The Secretary of Defense and the 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs may require registered 
        participants to waive claims against the Federal Government 
        (except claims for willful misconduct) for any injury, death, 
        damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits arising from 
        the registered participants' participation in a competition 
        under this section. The Secretary shall give notice of any 
        waiver required under this paragraph in the notice required by 
        subsection (a)(2)(B).
            (2) Liability insurance.--
                    (A) Requirements.--Registered participants in a 
                prize competition under this section shall be required 
                to obtain liability insurance or demonstrate financial 
                responsibility, in amounts determined by the Secretary, 
                for claims by--
                            (i) a third party for death, bodily injury, 
                        or property damage or loss resulting from an 
                        activity carried out in connection with 
                        participation in a competition under this 
                        section; and
                            (ii) the Federal Government for damage or 
                        loss to Government property resulting from such 
                        an activity.
                    (B) Federal government insured.--The Federal 
                Government shall be named as an additional insured 
                under a registered participant's insurance policy 
                required under subparagraph (A) with respect to claims 
                described in clause (i) of that subparagraph, and 
                registered participants shall be required to agree to 
                indemnify the Federal Government against third party 
                claims for damages arising from or related to 
                competition activities under this section.
    (i) Nonsubstitution.--The programs created under this section shall 
not be considered a substitute for Federal research and development 
programs.
    (j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $50,000,000 to carry out this section.