U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA) on May 24 introduced a bipartisan bill that would create safer removals of hazardous medical waste at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities and save the federal government money that could be used to improve health care for the nation’s military veterans.
“Those who have worn the cloth of this great nation deserve our utmost care and attention,” said Rep. Denham. “This bill will shake loose tangible resources to bring improvements in veterans care across the country.”
The Department of Veterans Affairs Creation of On-Site Treatment Systems Affording Veterans Improvements and Numerous General Safety Enhancements Act, in short known as VA COST SAVINGS Enhancements Act, H.R. 5974, includes U.S. Rep. Ann Kuster (D-NH) among the original cosponsors.
H.R. 5974 would require the Secretary of the VA to develop “a uniform regulated medical waste cost analysis model to be used to determine the cost savings associated with the use of an on-site regulated medical waste treatment system at department facilities,” according to the draft text of the bill.
Such a model would be designed to calculate savings based on the cost of treating regulated medical waste at an off-site location under a contract with a non-department entity, compared to the cost of treating regulated medical waste on-site, based on the equipment specification of treatment system manufacturers, with capital costs amortized over a 10-year period, according to the congressional record.
H.R. 5974 then would require the VA Secretary to identify VA facilities that would benefit from cost savings associated with the use of such on-site regulated medical waste treatment systems over a five-year period.
On-site sterilization machines would compress hazardous medical waste to make the bio-waste safe before it’s loaded into trucks and driven to regional disposal centers, according to a summary provided by the congressman’s office, resulting in system-wide savings of millions of dollars a year.
Implementing the technology for such on-site machines also would align the VA with Centers for Disease Control best practices for infection control, according to a statement from Rep. Denham’s staff.
“Improving efficiency at the VA means prioritizing resources for where they are needed most – caring for our veterans,” said U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), another original cosponsor of H.R. 5974. “With this bill we are working together to make government work better and to put our heroes first.”
H.R. 5974 has been referred to the U.S. House Veterans’ Affairs Committee for consideration.