DOULA for VA Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1937 To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a pilot program to furnish doula services to veterans. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 27, 2021 Mr. BOOKER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a pilot program to furnish doula services to veterans. 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 ‘‘Delivering Optimally 4 Urgent Labor Access for Veterans Affairs Act of 2021’’ 5 or the ‘‘DOULA for VA Act of 2021’’. 6 SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM ON DOULA SUPPORT FOR VET- 7 ERANS. 8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1937.IS S1937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1937 IS (1) There are approximately 2,300,000 women 1 within the veteran population in the United States. 2 (2) The number of women veterans using serv- 3 ices from the Veterans Health Administration has 4 increased by 28.8 percent from 423,642 in 2014 to 5 545,670 in 2019. 6 (3) During the period of 2010 through 2015, 7 the use of maternity services from the Veterans 8 Health Administration increased by 44 percent. 9 (4) Although prenatal care and delivery is not 10 provided in facilities of the Department of Veterans 11 Affairs, pregnant women seeking care from the De- 12 partment for other conditions may also need emer- 13 gency care and require coordination of services 14 through the Veterans Community Care Program 15 under section 1703 of title 38, United States Code. 16 (5) The number of unique women veteran pa- 17 tients with an obstetric delivery paid for by the De- 18 partment increased by 1,778 percent from 200 deliv- 19 eries in 2000 to 3,756 deliveries in 2015. 20 (6) The number of women age 35 years or older 21 with an obstetric delivery paid for by the Depart- 22 ment increased 16-fold from fiscal year 2000 to fis- 23 cal year 2015. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1937.IS S1937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1937 IS (7) A study in 2010 found that veterans return- 1 ing from Operation Enduring Freedom and Oper- 2 ation Iraqi Freedom who experienced pregnancy 3 were twice as likely to have a diagnosis of depres- 4 sion, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, bipolar 5 disorder, or schizophrenia as those who had not ex- 6 perienced a pregnancy. 7 (8) The number of women veterans of reproduc- 8 tive age seeking care from the Veterans Health Ad- 9 ministration continues to grow (more than 185,000 10 as of fiscal year 2015). 11 (b) PROGRAM.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 13 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 14 retary of Veterans Affairs shall establish a pilot pro- 15 gram to furnish doula services to covered veterans 16 through eligible entities by expanding the Whole 17 Health model of the Department of Veterans Af- 18 fairs, or successor model, to measure the impact 19 that doula support services have on birth and mental 20 health outcomes of pregnant veterans (in this section 21 referred to as the ‘‘pilot program’’). 22 (2) CONSIDERATION.—In carrying out the pilot 23 program, the Secretary shall consider all types of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1937.IS S1937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1937 IS doulas, including traditional and community-based 1 doulas. 2 (3) CONSULTATION.—In designing and imple- 3 menting the pilot program, the Secretary shall con- 4 sult with stakeholders, including— 5 (A) organizations representing veterans, 6 including veterans that are disproportionately 7 impacted by poor maternal health outcomes; 8 (B) community-based health care profes- 9 sionals, including doulas, and other stake- 10 holders; and 11 (C) experts in promoting health equity and 12 combating racial bias in health care settings. 13 (4) GOALS.—The goals of the pilot program are 14 the following: 15 (A) To improve— 16 (i) maternal, mental health, and in- 17 fant care outcomes; 18 (ii) integration of doula support serv- 19 ices into the Whole Health model of the 20 Department, or successor model; and 21 (iii) the experience of women receiving 22 maternity care from the Department, in- 23 cluding by increasing the ability of a 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1937.IS S1937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1937 IS woman to develop and follow her own 1 birthing plan. 2 (B) To reengage veterans with the Depart- 3 ment after giving birth. 4 (c) LOCATIONS.—The Secretary shall carry out the 5 pilot program in— 6 (1) the three Veterans Integrated Service Net- 7 works of the Department that have the highest per- 8 centage of female veterans enrolled in the patient 9 enrollment system of the Department established 10 and operated under section 1705(a) of title 38, 11 United States Code, compared to the total number 12 of enrolled veterans in such Network; and 13 (2) the three Veterans Integrated Service Net- 14 works that have the lowest percentage of female vet- 15 erans enrolled in the patient enrollment system com- 16 pared to the total number of enrolled veterans in 17 such Network. 18 (d) OPEN PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary shall 19 allow any eligible entity or covered veteran interested in 20 participating in the pilot program to participate in the 21 pilot program. 22 (e) SERVICES PROVIDED.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Under the pilot program, a 24 covered veteran shall receive not more than 10 ses- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1937.IS S1937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1937 IS sions of care from a doula under the Whole Health 1 model of the Department, or successor model, under 2 which a doula works as an advocate for the veteran 3 alongside the medical team for the veteran. 4 (2) SESSIONS.—Sessions covered under para- 5 graph (1) shall be as follows: 6 (A) Three or four sessions before labor and 7 delivery. 8 (B) One session during labor and delivery. 9 (C) Three or four sessions after post- 10 partum, which may be conducted via the mobile 11 application for VA Video Connect. 12 (f) ADMINISTRATION OF PILOT PROGRAM.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Women’s 14 Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs, or 15 successor office (in this section referred to as the 16 ‘‘Office’’), shall— 17 (A) coordinate services and activities under 18 the pilot program; 19 (B) oversee the administration of the pilot 20 program; and 21 (C) conduct onsite assessments of medical 22 facilities of the Department that are partici- 23 pating in the pilot program. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1937.IS S1937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1937 IS (2) GUIDELINES FOR VETERAN-SPECIFIC 1 CARE.—The Office shall establish guidelines under 2 the pilot program for training doulas on military 3 sexual trauma and post traumatic stress disorder. 4 (3) AMOUNTS FOR CARE.—The Office may rec- 5 ommend to the Secretary appropriate payment 6 amounts for care and services provided under the 7 pilot program, which shall not exceed $3,500 per 8 doula per veteran. 9 (g) DOULA SERVICE COORDINATOR.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta- 11 tion with the Office, shall establish a Doula Service 12 Coordinator within the functions of the Maternity 13 Care Coordinator at each medical facility of the De- 14 partment that is participating in the pilot program. 15 (2) DUTIES.—A Doula Service Coordinator es- 16 tablished under paragraph (1) at a medical facility 17 shall be responsible for— 18 (A) working with eligible entities, doulas, 19 and covered veterans participating in the pilot 20 program; and 21 (B) managing payment between eligible en- 22 tities and the Department under the pilot pro- 23 gram. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1937.IS S1937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1937 IS (3) TRACKING OF INFORMATION.—A doula pro- 1 viding services under the pilot program shall report 2 to the applicable Doula Service Coordinator after 3 each session conducted under the pilot program. 4 (4) COORDINATION WITH WOMEN’S PROGRAM 5 MANAGER.—A Doula Service Coordinator for a med- 6 ical facility of the Department shall coordinate with 7 the women’s program manager for that facility in 8 carrying out the duties of the Doula Service Coordi- 9 nator under the pilot program. 10 (h) TERM OF PILOT PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall 11 conduct the pilot program for a period of 5 years. 12 (i) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 13 establish a process to provide technical assistance to eligi- 14 ble entities and doulas participating in the pilot program. 15 (j) REPORT.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an- 18 nually thereafter for each year in which the pilot 19 program is carried out, the Secretary shall submit to 20 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate 21 and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 22 House of Representatives a report on the pilot pro- 23 gram. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1937.IS S1937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1937 IS (2) FINAL REPORT.—As part of the final report 1 submitted under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 2 include recommendations on whether the model 3 studied in the pilot program should be continued or 4 more widely adopted by the Department. 5 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 6 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary, for 7 each of fiscal years 2022 through 2027, such sums as may 8 be necessary to carry out this section. 9 (l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 10 (1) COVERED VETERAN.—The term ‘‘covered 11 veteran’’ means a pregnant veteran or a formerly 12 pregnant veteran (with respect to sessions post- 13 partum) who is enrolled in the patient enrollment 14 system of the Department of Veterans Affairs estab- 15 lished and operated under section 1705(a) of title 16 38, United States Code. 17 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 18 ty’’ means an entity that provides medically accu- 19 rate, comprehensive maternity services to covered 20 veterans under the laws administered by the Sec- 21 retary, including under the Veterans Community 22 Care Program under section 1703 of title 38, United 23 States Code. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1937.IS S1937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1937 IS (3) VA VIDEO CONNECT.—The term ‘‘VA Video 1 Connect’’ means the program of the Department of 2 Veterans Affairs to connect veterans with their 3 health care team from anywhere, using encryption to 4 ensure a secure and private session. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1937.IS S1937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS