80 FR 56550 - Publication of Choice Act Section 201 Independent Assessments

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 181 (September 18, 2015)

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Commission on Care, the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, and the House Veterans' Affairs Committee have received the final report on the independent assessment of VA health care processes as required under Section 201 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (VACAA). This Notice announces the public release of the report, entitled Independent Assessment of the Health Care Delivery Systems and Management Process of the Department of Veterans Affairs (Independent Assessment Report), on a VA Web site.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 181 (Friday, September 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56550-56551]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-23449]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


Publication of Choice Act Section 201 Independent Assessments

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Commission on 
Care, the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, and the House Veterans' 
Affairs Committee have received the final report on the independent 
assessment of VA health care processes as required

[[Page 56551]]

under Section 201 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability 
Act of 2014 (VACAA). This Notice announces the public release of the 
report, entitled Independent Assessment of the Health Care Delivery 
Systems and Management Process of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
(Independent Assessment Report), on a VA Web site.

ADDRESSES: The complete copy of the final independent assessment is 
available on the following Web site: http://www.va.gov/opa/choiceact/factsheets_and_details.asp.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Regan Crump, Director, Office of 
Strategic Planning & Analysis, Veterans Health Administration, 810 
Vermont Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20420, Telephone: (202) 461-7096 
(This is not a toll-free number.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VA entered into a contract with MITRE 
Corporation's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Alliance to 
Modernize Healthcare (CAMH), a private Federally Funded Research and 
Development Center (FFRDC) focused on large-scale transformation of 
health care systems in both the public and private sectors. CAMH and 
its partners have interviewed hundreds of VA and Veterans Health 
Administration (VHA) staff and visited 87 medical facilities across 30 
states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico, as they conducted a 
comprehensive independent assessment of the hospital care, medical 
services, and other health care processes across VA medical facilities. 
VA has provided access to its data, systems, and records by sharing 
approximately 500 data sets, reports, and other critical documentation 
to assist with CAMH's comprehensive analysis.
    The Commission on Care, an independent group of health care, 
business, and government experts established by VACAA, will now review 
this report and undertake a comprehensive evaluation and assessment of 
Veterans' access to VA health care and strategically examine how best 
to organize VHA to enable the delivery of high-quality and timely care. 
The Commission will submit a report of its findings and recommendations 
early in 2016 to the President of the United States through the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs. VA will be required to implement each 
recommendation that the President considers feasible, advisable, and 
able to be implemented without further legislation.

Signing Authority

    The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or designee, approved this 
document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the 
Independent Assessment Report to the Office of the Federal Register for 
publication electronically as an official document of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs. Robert L. Nabors II, Chief of Staff, Department of 
Veterans Affairs, approved this document on September 15, 2015, for 
publication.

    Dated: September 15, 2015.
William F. Russo,
Acting Director, Office of Regulation Policy & Management, U.S. 
Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2015-23449 Filed 9-17-15; 8:45 am]
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