{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mcgarvey.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-morgan-mcgarvey-introduces-landmark-bill-to-empower-va-innovation", "Congressman Morgan McGarvey Introduces Landmark Bill to Empower VA Innovation", "2024-12-20", "2024", "2024-12", "Democrat", "House", "KY", "Morgan McGarvey", "M001220", "mcgarvey.house.gov", "mcgarvey", "https://mcgarvey.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "The INNOVATE Act works to accelerate innovation at VA, improve healthcare for veterans, lower costs, and create new opportunities for veteran entrepreneurs\n\nWASHINGTON, DC (December 20, 2024) \u2013 Yesterday, Congressman Morgan McGarvey (KY-03) and Congressman Mike Levin (CA-49) introduced the Innovation for VA Technology and Entrepreneurship (INNOVATE) Act to provide the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)\u2014particularly Veterans Health Administration (VHA)\u2014with authorities that will empower VA to ensure veterans have quicker access to new and emerging healthcare innovations.\n\nAs the country\u2019s largest integrated healthcare system with over 1200 medical centers and clinics, the VA holds tremendous power and opportunity\u2014it serves more than 9 million veterans, has access to entire lifetimes of health data, and hosts the medical training programs that prepare 80% of the doctors and nurses in the country.\n\n\u201cWe need to do better for our nation\u2019s veterans. They deserve the best possible healthcare but that isn\u2019t always what they get when they go to the VA\u201d said Congressman Morgan McGarvey. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to stay this way. My INNOVATE Act would harness the power of the VA health care system, direct resources toward innovative health solutions, and incentivize them, so VA can not only rise to meet the ever changing needs of veterans but can emerge as a leader in the transformation of healthcare for all Americans.\u201d\n\nUnlike other American healthcare systems, VHA\u2019s #1 goal is best-in-class care for the veteran \u2014 not profit. However, despite its size, assets, and reach, VHA struggles to meet the clinical demand of a growing and changing veteran population and faces significant financial challenges that require an overhaul of its service delivery. VHA is also unable to nimbly engage with the private sector\u2014particularly early-stage businesses\u2014due to bureaucratic hurdles, which further limits VHA\u2019s ability to participate meaningfully in a quickly evolving technological healthcare landscape.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ve seen it work before \u2014 thanks to increased innovation at the Department of Defense, through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, we have the internet and GPS,\u201d continued Congressman McGarvey. \u201cImagine what we could accomplish if our nation\u2019s largest integrated health system had the same authorities to design, test, and deploy health solutions that meet the unique and ever changing needs of veterans\u2014that\u2019s where the INNOVATE Act comes in. If VA can find innovative solutions to better treat\u2014or even cure\u2014the health conditions veterans face, we\u2019re not only changing the lives of veterans, but every American, and every person with that condition.\u201d\n\n\u201cExcessive red tape has hindered the delivery of life-saving care to over nine million veterans enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration health program. We need more innovative approaches within the organization, which is why I\u2019m proud to co-lead the INNOVATE Act to give the VA the necessary tools to deliver modern, effective care for our veterans,\u201d said Congressman Mike Levin. \u201cBy cutting red tape, driving innovation, and supporting veteran entrepreneurs, this bill would ensure our nation\u2019s heroes who have access to the best health care solutions available.\u201d\n\nThe INNOVATE Act provides VHA with new contracting tools and capabilities that will increase capacity for collaboration with the broader healthcare industry and prioritizes collaborations with veteran owned small businesses.\n\nKey components of the INNOVATE Act include:\n\nOffice of Innovation: The bill codifies the existing VHA Office of Innovation with a Chief Innovation Officer who reports to the Under Secretary for Health.\n\nSpecial Hiring Authority (SHA): SHA would enable the Office of Innovation to quickly and competitively hire the most qualified clinical and technical subject matter experts to provide innovative care and build cutting-edge solutions.\n\nAdvanced Market Commitment (AMC): AMCs guarantee the manufacturer a market for new products that meet a target product profile at a pre-agreed price. In the context of VA healthcare, this means VA could drive the market toward unique veteran-centric solutions rather than relying solely on off-the-shelf products that require costly modification to meet the specific needs of veterans. It also means VA could get an optimized price and early access to a technology that it co-developed or facilitated with external partners.\n\nOther Transaction Authority (OTA): OTA enables easier collaboration with external innovators through the research, prototype, and production of new technology, rather than the current months-to-years long process it takes VA to partner with external stakeholders. OTA already exists in other federal agencies like the Department of Defense and is an important step in empowering VHA to become an innovation hub that can co-develop research-backed technologies with small businesses \u2013 including an emphasis on veteran-owned businesses \u2013 and safely apply them to veteran healthcare.\n\nInnovation Fund: Through a dedicated Innovation Fund, VHA can invest in technologies, addressing healthcare market failures with solutions that have not yet been developed, or optimized for veteran healthcare. Rather than have funding provided by Congress, the Innovation Fund would be supported through pilots sponsored by industry where solutions are enhanced through VA clinical subject matter expertise, veteran feedback, synthetic data sets, simulation testing environments, real clinical environments, and advanced medical device manufacturing. The fund would be further supported by earnings through equity, intellectual property (IP) rights, and fee-for-service mechanisms within the department. The Innovation Fund will be self-sustaining and no money appropriated for veteran care would be used for the fund.\n\nVeteran Entrepreneurship: The INNOVATE Act would increase opportunities for Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB) and Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) to work with VA. Through the outlined authorities and access to an Innovation Fund, VA can invest in and support these businesses from concept to implementation, scaling impactful solutions that are developed in collaboration with veterans, for veterans.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:07:19Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mcgarvey.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-morgan-mcgarvey-introduces-landmark-bill-to-empower-va-innovation"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.097508986480534, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}