I would like to thank Chairman Michaud, Ranking Member Brown, and members of the subcommittee for the opportunity to testify on behalf of H.R. 4062, the Veterans’ Health and Radiation Safety Act.  This subcommittee has been integral in ensuring that the healthcare needs of our veterans are being met.  I commend you on your leadership.

The need for H.R. 4062 came from a very serious matter that occurred at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center.  Starting in 2003, the brachytherapy program at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center was operated by a rogue doctor who botched approximately 86% of the prostate cancer treatment procedures he was contracted to perform on our veterans.   These multiple failures, which went undetected year after year, highlighted significant problems in the VA’s oversight system.  The VA failed until 2008 to catch this pattern of failure.

Upon learning of these glaring oversights, I became outraged that the brave men who so selflessly served our country had been subjected to such poor treatment and were neglected by a hospital and system created to protect them.

H.R. 4062, the Veterans’ Health and Radiation Safety Act is a comprehensive piece of legislation that seeks to remedy many of the mistakes that led to the problems surrounding the brachytherapy program at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center. 

This bill has three major components centered on increasing oversight and ensuring reform throughout the VA Healthcare System.

First, my bill mandates that the VA conduct an evaluation of all of the low-volume programs that are currently operating in its medical facilities to ensure that they are meeting their safety standards.  The brachytherapy program at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center was not subjected to independent peer review due to the fact that it was such a low volume program, serving only 116 patients over a 6-year period.  Because of this lack of oversight, errors that should have been caught and rectified were allowed to continue for six years unnoticed.

Second, H.R. 4062requires that every VA employee and independent contractor working in a VA medical facility be trained in what constitutes a “medical event,” as that term is defined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as well as when such an event should be reported and to whom.  The bill also provides that if a VA hospital has failed to administer such training, the use of radioactive isotopes at that VA medical facility may be suspended by the Secretary.

Over the course of the 6-year period in which the brachytherapy program at the Philadelphia VA was in operation, 86% of the patients were subjected to “reportable medical events.”  However, because many of the medical personnel in the program, including the independent contractors, were not trained in what constitutes a “medical event,” as that term is defined by the NRC, or to whom such an event should be reported, these errors were allowed to continue and our veterans remained susceptible to substandard medical care for far too long.

Lastly, my bill requires the Secretary to evaluate all medical services provided pursuant to a contract with a non-government entity.  Such evaluations shall include independent peer reviews of such medical services and written evaluations of an independent contractor’s performance by that contractor’s supervisor.  The bill also states that before a contract for medical services can be renewed, the above evaluations must be conducted.

One of the biggest problems that occurred at the Philadelphia VA was the lack of oversight and supervision VA officials had over the independent contractors they contracted with to provide medical services in their brachytherapy department.    What is particularly troubling is that these contracts were re-upped every three to six months with little to no scrutiny as to the performance of the independent contractors.   It is my hope that this provision in the bill will increase oversight throughout the VA Healthcare system.

The veterans who sought treatment for prostate cancer at the Philadelphia VA Hospital did not receive the quality health care their selfless service to our country earned them.  Such mistreatment of our veterans is not only unacceptable; it violates the bond our country made with them when they agreed to fight for the safety and security of this nation.  It is my hope that H.R. 4062 will help ensure that the failures that occurred at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center will never happen again within the VA.

I would again like to thank Chairman Michaud, Ranking Member Brown, and members of the subcommittee for allowing me the time to testify on this important matter.  I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.