Underserved Veterans Access to Health Care Act

Bill: 113-hr-4942
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Titus, Dina [D-NV-1]
Introduced: 2014-06-23
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Department of Veterans Affairs

Health care coverage and access

Health facilities and institutions

Health personnel

Medical education

Veterans' medical care
Latest action: action_date: 2014-07-07
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Summaries:
action_date: 2014-06-23
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>Underserved Veterans Access to Health Care Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish medical residency programs, or ensure a sufficient number of residency positions in medical residency programs, at VA medical facilities that the Secretary determines: (1) are experiencing a shortage of physicians, and (2) are located in communities that are designated as a health professional shortage area.</p> <p>Requires the Secretary to determine the specialty of health care professionals that a location is experiencing a shortage of and allocate residency positions based on such determination.</p> <p>Directs the Secretary, during the five-year period beginning on the enactment of this Act, to establish not fewer than 2,000 graduate medical education residency positions, giving priority to VA medical facilities that: (1) do not have medical residency programs, and (2) are located in communities that have a high concentration of veterans.</p>

tv_txt: I 113th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 4942 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 23, 2014 Ms. Titus (for herself, Mr. O’Rourke , Mr. Takano , Mr. Hastings of Florida , Ms. Kuster , Ms. Norton , and Mr. Ruiz ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to increase the number of graduate medical education residency positions at hospitals administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Underserved Veterans Access to Health Care Act . 2. Increase of graduate medical education residency positions (a) In general Section 7302 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (e) (1) In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall establish medical residency programs, or ensure a sufficient number of residency positions in medical residency programs, at medical facilities of the Department that the Secretary determines— (A) are experiencing a shortage of physicians; and (B) are located in communities that are designated as a health professional shortage area (as defined in section 332 of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 254e )). (2) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— (A) determine the specialty of health care professionals that a location is experiencing a shortage of, including with respect to primary care and mental health; (B) allocate the residency positions under paragraph (1) based on such determination; and (C) notify Congress of the information used by the Secretary to make such determination. . (b) Five-Year goal During the five-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish not fewer than 2,000 graduate medical education residency positions pursuant to section 7302(e) of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a). In establishing such positions, the Secretary shall give priority to medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs that— (1) as of the date of the enactment of this Act, do not have medical residency programs; and (2) are located in communities that have a high concentration of veterans.