Hudson Introduces Bill to Ensure Quality Care for Veterans

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08), Fort Bragg’s Congressman and a voice for North Carolina’s veterans, released the following statement after introducing the Ensuring Quality Care for Our Veterans Act (H.R. 4858):

This bill, which Rep. Hudson introduced with Rep. Ralph Norman (SC-05), would require the Veterans Administration (VA) to have a patient’s records reviewed by an independent third-party medical provider, if it is determined that patient received care within the VA system from a provider whose license had been previously revoked for cause.

There are thousands of medical providers who care for patients within the VA system. Those providers must be certified in their field of practice, and must not have had certifications revoked for cause by a State licensing board. While it is extraordinarily rare that a medical provider with a previously revoked license would slip through the VA hiring process, the fact still remains that across the nation, numerous state agencies and practitioner databases can make it difficult to guarantee the accuracy of all employment records.

Should the VA become aware of such cases, separate from the appropriate steps the Administration would take to address that provider’s continued employment at the VA, this bill would require the VA act quickly with a thorough and independent review of the care each patient received from that provider.