Congressman Morgan McGarvey Introduces Landmark Bill to Empower VA Innovation
The INNOVATE Act works to accelerate innovation at VA, improve healthcare for veterans, lower costs, and create new opportunities for veteran entrepreneurs
WASHINGTON, DC (December 20, 2024) – 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)—particularly Veterans Health Administration (VHA)—with authorities that will empower VA to ensure veterans have quicker access to new and emerging healthcare innovations.
As the country’s largest integrated healthcare system with over 1200 medical centers and clinics, the VA holds tremendous power and opportunity—it 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.
“We need to do better for our nation’s veterans. They deserve the best possible healthcare but that isn’t always what they get when they go to the VA” said Congressman Morgan McGarvey. “It doesn’t 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.”
Unlike other American healthcare systems, VHA’s #1 goal is best-in-class care for the veteran — 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—particularly early-stage businesses—due to bureaucratic hurdles, which further limits VHA’s ability to participate meaningfully in a quickly evolving technological healthcare landscape.
“We’ve seen it work before — thanks to increased innovation at the Department of Defense, through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, we have the internet and GPS,” continued Congressman McGarvey. “Imagine what we could accomplish if our nation’s 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—that’s where the INNOVATE Act comes in. If VA can find innovative solutions to better treat—or even cure—the health conditions veterans face, we’re not only changing the lives of veterans, but every American, and every person with that condition.”
“Excessive 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’m proud to co-lead the INNOVATE Act to give the VA the necessary tools to deliver modern, effective care for our veterans,” said Congressman Mike Levin. “By cutting red tape, driving innovation, and supporting veteran entrepreneurs, this bill would ensure our nation’s heroes who have access to the best health care solutions available.”
The 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.
Key components of the INNOVATE Act include:
- Office of Innovation: The bill codifies the existing VHA Office of Innovation with a Chief Innovation Officer who reports to the Under Secretary for Health.
- Special 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.
- Advanced 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.
- Other 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 – including an emphasis on veteran-owned businesses – and safely apply them to veteran healthcare.
- Innovation 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.
- Veteran 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.
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