S.Amdt. 2954

SA 2954. Mr. YOUNG submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2910 proposed by Mr. Shelby to the bill H.R. 5895, making
appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes;
which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of title II of division C, add the following:

SEC. 2__. ANNUAL ASSESSMENT AND RATING OF NURSING HOMES OF
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

(a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 38,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:

``Sec. 7330D. Annual assessment and rating of nursing homes

``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall conduct an annual
assessment of all nursing homes operated by the Department
and prepare ratings and rankings of all such nursing homes.
``(b) Elements of Ratings and Rankings.--The nursing home
ratings and rankings prepared by the Secretary under
subsection (a) shall, at a minimum, include the following
information:
``(1) The metrics and criteria for determining the ranking
of a nursing home of the Department.
``(2) An identification and review of any categories
comprising the overall ranking of a nursing home of the
Department.
``(3) An identification of the division or business unit of
the Department responsible for conducting the assessment
under subsection (a) and determining rankings of nursing
homes.
``(4) An explanation of the methods used by such division
or business unit in conducting the assessment and determining
the rankings.
``(5) A comparison of the current rankings of nursing homes
of the Department with all previous rankings of the
Department for such nursing homes.
``(6) An identification of a high-risk list consisting of
the lowest-ranked nursing homes of the Department.
``(7) An analysis of how the ratings of nursing homes of
the Department compare to private sector nursing homes rated
by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
``(c) Publication.--Not less frequently than annually, the
Secretary shall publish the ratings and rankings prepared
under subsection (a), including the information required by
subsection (b), on a publicly available Internet website of
the Department.
``(d) Report.--Not less frequently than annually, upon the
publication of the annual ratings and rankings under
subsection (c), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee
on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives a report
that includes the following:
``(1) An action plan for improving the quality of care and
ranking of the nursing homes of the Department identified on
the high-risk list under subsection (b)(6).
``(2) An identification of the resources necessary to
implement corrective actions, including funding, stakeholder
support, and technology, and an identification of the senior
officials of the Department responsible for implementing
those corrective actions and supporting results.
``(3) An identification of metrics that can be used to
assess progress in improving nursing homes of the Department
and assign responsibility for tracking such progress,
including the mechanism to be used to keep senior leadership
of the Department informed about progress made or challenges
encountered.
``(4) A list of key outcomes and goals that demonstrate
progress in addressing the concerns with nursing homes of the
Department identified on the high-risk list under subsection
(b)(6).
``(5) An identification of timeframes for the improvement
of nursing homes of the Department, with overall and interim
milestones.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of chapter 73 of such title is amended by inserting
after the item relating to section 7330C the following new
item:

``7330D. Annual assessment and rating of nursing homes.''.
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