Federal

Veterans Patient Advocacy Act

Source: Congress.gov · 458 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill changes rules about patient advocates at Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities. Patient advocates are staff members who help veterans navigate the healthcare system and address their concerns. The bill requires the VA to have enough patient advocates and make sure rural veterans can reach them.

Who It Affects

Veterans enrolled in the VA healthcare system, especially those living in rural areas, are directly affected. The Department of Veterans Affairs must follow the new rules. The Comptroller General of the United States must report on whether the VA is following the law.

Key Provisions

• The VA must have at least one patient advocate for every 13,500 enrolled veterans starting one year after the law takes effect (Sec. 2(a)(2)) • The VA must help rural veterans access patient advocates, including by assigning patient advocates to rural community-based outpatient clinics (offices that serve rural areas) when possible (Sec. 2(a)(2)) • The Comptroller General, a government official who checks federal spending and actions, must report to Congress within two years about whether the VA is following these new rules (Sec. 2(b))

What Changes

If this becomes law, the VA must hire or assign enough patient advocates to meet the ratio of one per 13,500 veterans. The VA must also work to place patient advocates in rural clinics so veterans far from cities can use these services.

Important Definitions

None defined in the bill text.

Effective Date

One year after the date the law is signed, for the patient advocate staffing requirements.

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 449 To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the assignment of patient advocates at medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 15, 2023 Ms. STABENOW introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the assignment of patient advocates at medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Patient Advo- 4 cacy Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PATIENT ADVOCATES AT MEDICAL FACILITIES OF 6 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7309A of title 38, United 8 States Code, is amended— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Mar 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S449.IS S449 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 449 IS (1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as 1 subsections (f) and (g), respectively; and 2 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol- 3 lowing new subsection (e): 4 ‘‘(e) NUMBER OF PATIENT ADVOCATES.—Beginning 5 on the date that is one year after the date of the enact- 6 ment of the Veterans Patient Advocacy Act, the Director 7 shall ensure that— 8 ‘‘(1) there is not fewer than one patient advo- 9 cate for every 13,500 veterans enrolled in the system 10 of annual patient enrollment of the Department es- 11 tablished and operated under section 1705(a) of this 12 title; and 13 ‘‘(2) highly rural veterans may access the serv- 14 ices of patient advocates, including, to the extent 15 practicable, by assigning patient advocates to rural 16 community-based outpatient clinics.’’. 17 (b) GAO REPORT.—Not later than two years after 18 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 19 General of the United States shall submit to the Com- 20 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com- 21 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa- 22 tives a report evaluating the implementation by the Sec- 23 retary of Veterans Affairs of subsection (e) of section 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Mar 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S449.IS S449 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 449 IS 7309A of title 38, United States Code, as added by sub- 1 section (a)(2). 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Mar 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S449.IS S449 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.