Women Veterans Health Care Accountability Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2982 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a study of the barriers for women veterans to health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 23, 2019 Mr. CUNNINGHAM (for himself and Mrs. MURPHY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a study of the barriers for women veterans to health care from 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 ‘‘Women Veterans 4 Health Care Accountability Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. STUDY OF BARRIERS FOR WOMEN VETERANS TO 6 HEALTH CARE FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF 7 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 8 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Veterans 9 Affairs shall conduct a comprehensive study of the bar- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2982.IH H2982 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2982 IH riers to the provision of comprehensive health care by the 1 Department of Veterans Affairs encountered by women 2 who are veterans. In conducting the study, the Secretary 3 shall— 4 (1) survey women veterans who seek or receive 5 hospital care or medical services provided by the De- 6 partment of Veterans Affairs as well as women vet- 7 erans who do not seek or receive such care or serv- 8 ices; 9 (2) administer the survey to a representative 10 sample of women veterans from each Veterans Inte- 11 grated Service Network; and 12 (3) ensure that the sample of women veterans 13 surveyed is of sufficient size for the study results to 14 be statistically significant and is a larger sample 15 than that of the study referred to in subsection 16 (b)(1). 17 (b) USE OF PREVIOUS STUDIES.—In conducting the 18 study required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall build 19 on the work of the studies of the Department of Veterans 20 Affairs titled— 21 (1) ‘‘National Survey of Women Veterans in 22 Fiscal Year 2007–2008’’; and 23 (2) ‘‘Study of Barriers for Women Veterans to 24 VA Health Care 2015’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2982.IH H2982 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2982 IH (c) ELEMENTS OF STUDY.—In conducting the study 1 required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall conduct re- 2 search on the effects of the following on the women vet- 3 erans surveyed in the study: 4 (1) The perceived stigma associated with seek- 5 ing mental health care services. 6 (2) The effect of driving distance or availability 7 of other forms of transportation to the nearest med- 8 ical facility on access to care. 9 (3) The availability of child care. 10 (4) The acceptability of integrated primary 11 care, women’s health clinics, or both. 12 (5) The comprehension of eligibility require- 13 ments for, and the scope of services available under, 14 hospital care and medical services. 15 (6) The perception of personal safety and com- 16 fort in inpatient, outpatient, and behavioral health 17 facilities. 18 (7) The gender sensitivity of health care pro- 19 viders and staff to issues that particularly affect 20 women. 21 (8) The effectiveness of outreach for health care 22 services available to women veterans. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2982.IH H2982 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2982 IH (9) The location and operating hours of health 1 care facilities that provide services to women vet- 2 erans. 3 (10) Such other significant barriers as the Sec- 4 retary considers appropriate. 5 (d) DISCHARGE BY CONTRACT.—The Secretary shall 6 enter into a contract with a qualified independent entity 7 or organization to carry out the study and research re- 8 quired under this section. 9 (e) MANDATORY REVIEW OF DATA BY CERTAIN DE- 10 PARTMENT DIVISIONS.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 12 that the head of each division of the Department of 13 Veterans Affairs specified in paragraph (2) reviews 14 the results of the study conducted under this sec- 15 tion. The head of each such division shall submit 16 findings with respect to the study to the Under Sec- 17 retary for responsibilities relating to health care 18 services for women veterans. 19 (2) SPECIFIED DIVISIONS.—The divisions of the 20 Department of Veterans Affairs specified in this 21 paragraph are the following: 22 (A) The Center for Women Veterans estab- 23 lished under section 318 of title 38, United 24 States Code. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2982.IH H2982 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2982 IH (B) The Advisory Committee on Women 1 Veterans established under section 542 of such 2 title. 3 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 30 months after the 4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall sub- 5 mit to Congress a report on the study required under this 6 section. The report shall include recommendations for 7 such administrative and legislative action as the Secretary 8 considers appropriate. The report shall also include the 9 findings of the head of each division of the Department 10 specified under subsection (e)(2) and of the Under Sec- 11 retary for Health. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2982.IH H2982 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS