S.Amdt. 2578

SA 2578. Mr. CASSIDY (for himself and Mr. Cotton) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4638, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle C of title VII, add the following:

SEC. 727. EXPANSION OF RECOGNITION BY THE DEFENSE HEALTH
AGENCY OF CERTIFYING BODIES FOR PHYSICIANS.

(a) Expansion.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Defense Health
Agency shall revise the policy of the Defense Health Agency
regarding credentialing and privileging under the military
health system to expand the recognition of certifying bodies
for physicians under such policy to a wide range of
additional board certifications in medical specialties and
subspecialties.
(b) Recognition of Certain Certifying Bodies.--The policy
required to be revised under subsection (a) shall include
recognition of the following certifying bodies:
(1) The member boards of the American Board of Medical
Specialties.
(2) The Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists of the American
Osteopathic Association.
(3) The American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery.
(4) The American Board of Podiatric Medicine.
(5) The American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
(c) Standards for Recognition of Other Certifying Bodies.--
To be recognized under subsection (a), a certifying body for
a specialty or subspecialty shall--
(1) be an organization described in section 501(c) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under
section 501(a) of that Code;
(2) maintain a process to define, periodically review,
enforce, and update specific standards regarding knowledge
and skills of the specialty or subspecialty;
(3) administer a psychometrically valid assessment to
determine whether a physician meets standards for initial
certification, recertification, or continuing certification;
(4) establish and enforce a code of professional conduct;
and
(5) require that, in order to be considered a board
certified specialty physician, a physician must satisfy--
(A) the certifying body's applicable requirements for
initial certification; and
(B) any applicable recertification or continuing
certification requirements of the certifying body that
granted the initial certification.
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