S.Amdt. 978

SA 978. Mr. MORAN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2024 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 G of title X, add the following:

SEC. 1083. CONFIDENTIALITY OF MEDICAL QUALITY ASSURANCE
RECORDS.

(a) In General.--Chapter 313 of title 51, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 31303. CONFIDENTIALITY OF MEDICAL QUALITY ASSURANCE
RECORDS.

``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection
(b)(1)--
``(1) a medical quality assurance record, or any part of a
medical quality assurance record, may not be subject to
discovery or admitted into evidence in a judicial or
administrative proceeding; and
``(2) an individual who reviews or creates a medical
quality assurance record for the Administration, or
participates in any proceeding that reviews or creates a
medical quality assurance record, may not testify in a
judicial or administrative proceeding with respect to--
``(A) the medical quality assurance record; or
``(B) any finding, recommendation, evaluation, opinion, or
action taken by such individual or in accordance with such
proceeding with respect to the medical quality assurance
record.
``(b) Disclosure of Records.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), a
medical quality assurance record may be disclosed to--
``(A) a Federal agency or private entity, if the medical
quality assurance record is necessary for the Federal agency
or private entity to carry out--
``(i) licensing or accreditation functions relating to
Administration healthcare facilities; or
``(ii) monitoring of Administration healthcare facilities
required by law;
``(B) a Federal agency or healthcare provider, if the
medical quality assurance record is required by the Federal
agency or healthcare provider to enable Administration
participation in a healthcare program of the Federal agency
or healthcare provider;
``(C) a criminal or civil law enforcement agency, or an
instrumentality authorized by law to protect the public
health or safety, on written request by a qualified
representative of such agency or instrumentality submitted to
the Administrator that includes a description of the lawful
purpose for which the medical quality assurance record is
requested;
``(D) to an official of the Department of Justice who is
investigating a claim or potential claim against the
Administration or in response to litigation or potential
litigation involving the Administration when the records are
deemed relevant and necessary;
``(E) an officer, an employee, or a contractor of the
Administration who requires the medical quality assurance
record to carry out an official duty associated with
healthcare;
``(F) healthcare personnel, to the extent necessary to
address a medical emergency affecting the health or safety of
an individual;
``(G) any committee, panel, or board convened by the
Administration to review the healthcare-related policies and
practices of the Administration; and
``(H) pursuant to the order of a court of competent
jurisdiction.
``(2) Subsequent disclosure prohibited.--An individual or
entity to whom a medical quality assurance record has been
disclosed under paragraph (1) may not make a subsequent
disclosure of the medical quality assurance record.
``(c) Personally Identifiable Information.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
personally identifiable information contained in a medical
quality assurance record of a patient or an employee of the
Administration, or any other individual associated with the
Administration for purposes of a medical quality assurance
program, shall be removed before the disclosure of the
medical quality assurance record to an entity other than the
Administration.
``(2) Exception.--Personally identifiable information
described in paragraph (1) may be released to an entity other
than the Administration if the Administrator makes a
determination that the release of such personally
identifiable information--
``(A) is in the best interests of the Administration; and
``(B) does not constitute an unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy.
``(d) Exclusion From FOIA.--A medical quality assurance
record may not be made available to any person under section
552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as
the `Freedom of Information Act'), and this section shall be
considered a statute described in subsection (b)(3)(B) of
such section 522.
``(e) Regulations.--Not later than one year after the date
of the enactment of this section, the Administrator shall
promulgate regulations to implement this section.
``(f) Rules of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall
be construed--
``(1) to withhold a medical quality assurance record from a
committee of the Senate or House of Representatives or a
joint committee of Congress if the medical quality assurance
record relates to a matter within the jurisdiction of such
committee or joint committee; or
``(2) to limit the use of a medical quality assurance
record within the Administration, including the use by a
contractor or consultant of the Administration.
``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Medical quality assurance record.--The term `medical
quality assurance record' means any proceeding, discussion,
record, finding, recommendation, evaluation, opinion,
minutes, report, or other document or action that results
from a quality assurance committee, quality assurance
program, or quality assurance program activity.
``(2) Quality assurance program.--
``(A) In general.--The term `quality assurance program'
means a comprehensive program of the Administration--
``(i) to systematically review and improve the quality of
medical and behavioral health services provided by the
Administration to ensure the safety and security of
individuals receiving such health services; and
``(ii) to evaluate and improve the efficiency,
effectiveness, and use of staff and resources in the delivery
of such health services.
``(B) Inclusion.--The term `quality assurance program'
includes any activity carried out by or for the
Administration to assess the quality of medical care provided
by the Administration.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of
sections for chapter 313 of title 51, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:

``31303. Confidentiality of medical quality assurance records.''.
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