I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1674 
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 Affairs, to reduce the duration of the hiring 
process for such medical providers, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 11, 2019 
Mr. TIPTON (for himself and Mr. CROW) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
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 
Affairs, to reduce the duration of the hiring process 
for such medical providers, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Improved Ac-
cess and Care Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM ON EXPEDITING THE DEPART-
MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PROCESS FOR 
ONBOARDING NEW MEDICAL PROVIDERS. 
(a) PILOT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 
(1) 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 providers. 
(2) GOAL FOR PROGRAM.—Under the pilot pro-
gram, the Secretary shall seek to reduce the length 
of time it takes to onboard medical providers to no 
more than 60 days. 
(b) LOCATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall select 
not fewer than ten medical facilities of the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs at which to carry out the 
pilot program. 
(2) REGIONAL DIVERSITY.—The medical facili-
ties selected under paragraph (1) shall be located in 
regionally diverse areas, as determined by the Sec-
retary. 
(3) PRIORITY.—In selecting medical facilities 
under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give pri-
ority to medical facilities facing hiring shortages of 
licensed independent medical providers. 
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(c) ONBOARDING PROCESS DEFINED.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘‘onboarding process’’ means the process of 
bringing on a medical provider applicant after the medical 
provider is offered a tentative position, including certifi-
cation of credentialing, background investigation, assess-
ment of health status, and such other actions as are nec-
essary for starting employment. 
SEC. 3. STRATEGY TO REDUCE DURATION OF HIRING 
PROCESS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-
FAIRS FOR LICENSED PROFESSIONAL MED-
ICAL PROVIDERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet-
erans 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 pro-
viders by half. 
(b) EXPEDITED CERTIFICATION.—The strategy sub-
mitted under subsection (a) shall describe how the overall 
certification of credentials process of the Department for 
licensed professional medical providers can be expedited. 
Æ 
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