Deborah Sampson Act

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3224 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 13, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs AN ACT To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for in- creased access to Department of Veterans Affairs med- ical care for women veterans. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3224.RFS H3224 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 HR 3224 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘Deborah Sampson Act’’. 3 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 4 this Act is as follows: 5 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION Sec. 101. Office of Women’s Health in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 102. Expansion of capabilities of women veterans call center to include text messaging. Sec. 103. Requirement for Department of Veterans Affairs internet website to provide information on services available to women veterans. Sec. 104. Report on Women Veterans Retrofit Initiative. Sec. 105. Establishment of environment of care standards and inspections at Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers. Sec. 106. Additional funding for primary care and emergency care clinicians in Women Veterans Health Care Mini-Residency Program. Sec. 107. Establishment of women veteran training module for non-Department of Veterans Affairs health care providers. TITLE II—MEDICAL CARE Sec. 201. Improved access to Department of Veterans Affairs medical care for women veterans. Sec. 202. Counseling and treatment for sexual trauma. Sec. 203. Counseling in retreat settings for women veterans and other individ- uals. Sec. 204. Improvement of health care services provided to newborn children by Department of Veterans Affairs. TITLE III—REPORTS AND OTHER MATTERS Subtitle A—Reports Sec. 301. Assessment of effects of intimate partner violence on women veterans by Advisory Committee on Women Veterans. Sec. 302. Study on staffing of Women Veteran Program Manager program at medical centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs and training of staff. Sec. 303. Report on availability of prosthetic items for women veterans from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 304. Study of barriers for women veterans to health care from the Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 305. Report regarding veterans who receive benefits under laws adminis- tered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 306. Study on Women Veteran Coordinator program. Subtitle B—Other Matters VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H3224.RFS H3224 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 HR 3224 RFS Sec. 321. Anti-harassment and anti-sexual assault policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 322. Support for organizations that have a focus on providing assistance to women veterans and their families. Sec. 323. Gap analysis of Department of Veterans Affairs programs that pro- vide assistance to women veterans who are homeless. Sec. 324. Department of Veterans Affairs public-private partnership on legal services for women veterans. Sec. 325. Program to assist veterans who experience intimate partner violence or sexual assault. Sec. 326. Study and task force on veterans experiencing intimate partner vio- lence or sexual assault. TITLE I—VETERANS HEALTH 1 ADMINISTRATION 2 SEC. 101. OFFICE OF WOMEN’S HEALTH IN THE DEPART- 3 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 4 (a) DIRECTOR OF WOMEN’S HEALTH.—Subsection 5 (a) of section 7306 of title 38, United States Code, is 6 amended— 7 (1) by redesignating paragraph (10) as para- 8 graph (11); and 9 (2) by inserting after paragraph (9) the fol- 10 lowing new paragraph: 11 ‘‘(10) The Director of Women’s Health.’’. 12 (b) ORGANIZATION OF OFFICE.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 73 14 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by add- 15 ing at the end of the following new sections: 16 ‘‘§ 7310. Office of Women’s Health 17 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) The Under Secretary for 18 Health shall establish and operate in the Veterans Health 19 Administration the Office of Women’s Health (hereinafter 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3224.RFS H3224 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 HR 3224 RFS in this section referred to as the ‘Office’). The Office shall 1 be located at the Central Office of the Department of Vet- 2 erans Affairs. 3 ‘‘(2) The head of the Office is the Director of Wom- 4 en’s Health (hereinafter in this section referred to as the 5 ‘Director’). The Director shall report to the Under Sec- 6 retary for Health. 7 ‘‘(3) The Under Secretary for Health shall provide 8 the Office with such staff and other support as may be 9 necessary for the Office to carry out effectively its func- 10 tions under this section. 11 ‘‘(4) The Under Secretary for Health may reorganize 12 existing offices within the Veterans Health Administration 13 as of the date of the enactment of this section in order 14 to avoid duplication with the functions of the Office. 15 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The functions of the Office include 16 the following: 17 ‘‘(1) To provide a central office for monitoring 18 and encouraging the activities of the Veterans 19 Health Administration with respect to the provision, 20 evaluation, and improvement of women veterans’ 21 health care services in the Department. 22 ‘‘(2) To develop and implement standards of 23 care for the provision of health care for women vet- 24 erans in the Department. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3224.RFS H3224 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 HR 3224 RFS ‘‘(3) To monitor and identify deficiencies in 1 standards of care for the provision of health care for 2 women veterans in the Department, to provide tech- 3 nical assistance to medical facilities of the Depart- 4 ment to address and remedy deficiencies, and to per- 5 form oversight of implementation of standards of 6 care for women veterans’ health care in the Depart- 7 ment. 8 ‘‘(4) To monitor and identify deficiencies in 9 standards of care for the provision of health care for 10 women veterans provided through the community 11 pursuant to this title, and to provide recommenda- 12 tions to the appropriate office to address and rem- 13 edy any deficiencies. 14 ‘‘(5) To oversee distribution of resources and 15 information related to women veterans’ health pro- 16 gramming under this title. 17 ‘‘(6) To promote the expansion and improve- 18 ment of clinical, research, and educational activities 19 of the Veterans Health Administration with respect 20 the health care of women veterans. 21 ‘‘(7) To provide, as part of the annual budg- 22 eting process, recommendations with respect to the 23 amount of funds to be requested for furnishing hos- 24 pital care and medical services to women veterans 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3224.RFS H3224 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 HR 3224 RFS pursuant to chapter 17 of this title, including, at a 1 minimum, recommendations that ensure that such 2 amount of funds either reflect or exceed the propor- 3 tion of veterans enrolled in the patient enrollment 4 system under section 1705 of this title who are 5 women. 6 ‘‘(8) To provide recommendations to the Under 7 Secretary for Health with respect to modifying the 8 Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation system to 9 ensure that resource allocations under such system 10 reflect the health care needs of women veterans. 11 ‘‘(9) To carry out such other duties as the 12 Under Secretary for Health may require. 13 ‘‘(c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—If the Under Secretary 14 for Health determines not to implement any recommenda- 15 tion made by the Director with respect to the allocation 16 of resources to address the health care needs of women 17 veterans, the Secretary shall notify the appropriate con- 18 gressional committees of such determination by not later 19 than 30 days after the date on which the Under Secretary 20 for Health receives the recommendation. Each such notifi- 21 cation shall include the following: 22 ‘‘(1) The reasoning of the Under Secretary for 23 Health in making such determination. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3224.RFS H3224 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 HR 3224 RFS ‘‘(2) An alternative, if one is selected, to such 1 recommendation that the Under Secretary for 2 Health will carry out to fulfill the health care needs 3 of women veterans. 4 ‘‘(d) STANDARDS OF CARE.—In this section, the 5 standards of care for the provision of health care for 6 women veterans in the Department shall include, at a min- 7 imum, the following: 8 ‘‘(1) Requirement for— 9 ‘‘(A) at least one designated women’s 10 health primary care provider at each medical 11 center whose duties include, to the extent prac- 12 ticable, providing training to other health care 13 providers of the Department with respect to the 14 needs of women veterans; and 15 ‘‘(B) at least one designated women’s 16 health primary care provider at each commu- 17 nity-based outpatient clinic of the Department 18 who may serve female patients as a percentage 19 of the total duties of the provider. 20 ‘‘(2) Other requirements as determined by the 21 Under Secretary for Health. 22 ‘‘(e) OUTREACH.—The Director shall ensure that— 23 ‘‘(1) not less frequently than biannually, each 24 medical facility of the Department holds a public 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3224.RFS H3224 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 HR 3224 RFS forum for women veterans that occurs outside of 1 regular business hours; and 2 ‘‘(2) not less frequently than quarterly, each 3 medical facility of the Department convenes a focus 4 group of women veterans that includes a discussion 5 of harassment occurring at such facility. 6 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 ‘‘(1) The term ‘appropriate congressional com- 8 mittees’ has the meaning given that term in section 9 7310A of this title. 10 ‘‘(2) The term ‘facility of the Department’ has 11 the meaning given the term in section 1701(3). 12 ‘‘(3) The term ‘Veterans Equitable Resource 13 Allocation system’ means the resource allocation sys- 14 tem established pursuant to section 429 of the De- 15 partments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and 16 Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Ap- 17 propriations Act, 1997 (Public Law 104–204; 110 18 Stat. 2929). 19 ‘‘§ 7310A. Annual reports on women’s Health 20 ‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than December 21 1 of each year, the Director of Women’s Health shall sub- 22 mit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 23 containing the matters under subsections (b) through (g). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3224.RFS H3224 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 HR 3224 RFS ‘‘(b) OFFICE OF WOMEN’S HEALTH.—Each report 1 under subsection (a) shall include a description of— 2 ‘‘(1) actions taken by the Office of Women’s 3 Health in the preceding fiscal year to improve the 4 Department’s provision of health care to women vet- 5 erans; 6 ‘‘(2) any identified deficiencies related to the 7 Department’s provision of health care to women vet- 8 erans and the standards of care established in sec- 9 tion 7310 of this title, and the Department’s plan to 10 address such deficiencies; 11 ‘‘(3) the funding and personnel provided to the 12 Office and whether additional funding or personnel 13 are needed to meet the requirements of such section; 14 and 15 ‘‘(4) other information that would be of interest 16 to the appropriate congressional committees with re- 17 spect to oversight of the Department’s provision of 18 health care to women veterans. 19 ‘‘(c) ACCESS TO GENDER-SPECIFIC SERVICES.— 20 Each report under subsection (a) shall include an analysis 21 of the access of women veterans to gender-specific services 22 under contracts, agreements, or other arrangements with 23 non-Department medical providers entered into by the 24 Secretary for the provision of hospital care or medical 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3224.RFS H3224 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 HR 3224 RFS services to veterans. Such analysis shall include data and 1 performance measures for the availability of gender spe- 2 cific services, including— 3 ‘‘(1) the average wait time between the vet- 4 eran’s preferred appointment date and the date on 5 which the appointment is completed; 6 ‘‘(2) the average driving time required for vet- 7 erans to attend appointments; and 8 ‘‘(3) reasons why appointments could not be 9 scheduled with non-Department medical providers. 10 ‘‘(d) LOCATIONS WHERE WOMEN VETERANS ARE 11 USING HEALTH CARE.—Each report under subsection (a) 12 shall include an analysis of the use by women veterans 13 of health care from the Department, including the fol- 14 lowing information: 15 ‘‘(1) The number of women veterans who reside 16 in each State. 17 ‘‘(2) The number of women veterans in each 18 State who are enrolled in the system of patient en- 19 rollment of the Department established and operated 20 under section 1705(a) this title. 21 ‘‘(3) Of the women veterans who are so en- 22 rolled, the number who have received health care 23 under the laws administered by the Secretary at 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3224.RFS H3224 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 HR 3224 RFS least one time during the 1-year period preceding 1 the submittal of the report. 2 ‘‘(4) The number of women veterans who have 3 been seen at each medical facility of the Department 4 during such year. 5 ‘‘(5) The number of appointments that women 6 veterans have had at each such facility during such 7 year. 8 ‘‘(6) If known, an identification of the medical 9 facility of the Department in each Veterans Inte- 10 grated Service Network with the largest rate of in- 11 crease in patient population of women veterans as 12 measured by the increase in unique women veteran 13 patient use. 14 ‘‘(7) If known, an identification of the medical 15 facility of the Department in each Veterans Inte- 16 grated Service Network with the largest rate of de- 17 crease in patient population of women veterans as 18 measured by the decrease in unique women veterans 19 [Text truncated for display. 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