Bipartisan bill would codify VHA Office of Innovation as a federal lab
A codified, tech-focused Office of Innovation would be a Veterans Health Administration federal laboratory under a bipartisan bill reintroduced Tuesday.
The Innovation for VA Technology and Entrepreneurship (INNOVATE) Act (H.R. 10984) would “foster innovation to advance health care and services for veterans” with non-Veterans Affairs Department entities, such as private companies and universities.
“Veterans deserve the best and most cutting-edge care in the world,” bill sponsor Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky., said in a statement. “We must leverage VA’s resources to speed up and encourage that innovation.”
The office would research, develop and fund innovations to improve veteran healthcare, the bill says.
The bill would also give other transaction authority — the ability to enter into agreements other than contracts, cooperative agreements and grants — to the VHA for up to $10 million with non-VA entities, with larger amounts allowed if justified to Congress. It would also let VHA guarantee to buy a technology at a set price — all as part of a broader effort to “cut down on red tape that delays development of the newest treatments and technology for veterans’ healthcare,” a press release said.
“Innovative treatments shouldn’t be held up by years of red tape before they reach the veterans who need them,” co-sponsor Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, said in the release.
While there is no specific dollar amount attached to the bill, it would authorize “such sums as may be necessary” for a new innovation account that could also accept outside contributions.
The original bill was introduced and died in the last month of the 118th Congress. While the bill has less than two months left of the 119th Congress to pass, Luttrell did not run for reelection, so McGarvey would need to find a new Republican co-sponsor for bipartisanship in the 120th Congress.
It does not yet have a Senate companion and has been referred to the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
