WASHINGTON, D.C. (WCHS/WVAH) — The U.S. Senate has passed a bill would require more accountability from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs related to the medical care provided to Veterans.
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin was a co-sponsor of the VA Provider Accountability Act, which would require the VA to inform the National Practitioner Data Bank and state licensing boards of major adverse actions committed by medical providers at the VA, according to a news release Thursday from Manchin’s office
The bill would also prevent the VA from signing settlements with fired employees to hide major medical mistakes in their personnel files.
It now goes to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration.
“While a great majority of VA doctors provide the very best of care, the system can be ruined by a few bad apples and it’s our duty to protect Veterans from these dangerous doctors,” Manchin said in the news release.
Manchin said he originally cosponsored the bill in response to a 2017 General Accounting Office report that showed an alarming pattern of concealing poor care and major mistakes within the VA.
Manchin’s office said the bill was introduced by U.S. Sens. Manchin, Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Jerry Moran, R-Kan., Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Susan Collins, R-Maine
Meanwhile, the passage of the bill in the Senate comes after Manchin and U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. introduced a separate bill in response to recent deaths of Veterans at the Clarksburg VA medical center that would require the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to submit detailed reports on patient safety and quality of care at VA medical centers.
At least 10 deaths at the Clarksburg medical center have been called suspicious and are under investigation, and two have been determined to be homicides. Some of the victims appear to have been killed with insulin injections they did not medically need.
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