Improving Oversight of Women Veterans’ Care Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4096 To amend title 38, United States Code, to require an annual report on veteran access to gender specific services under community care con- tracts, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 30, 2019 Mr. CORREA (for himself, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. WILD, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Ms. TITUS, Mr. PETERSON, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. MOORE, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Miss GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N of Puerto Rico, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, and Mr. CA´RDENAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to require an annual report on veteran access to gender specific services under community care contracts, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Improving Oversight 4 of Women Veterans’ Care Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4096.IH H4096 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4096 IH SEC. 2. ANNUAL REPORT ON VETERAN ACCESS TO GENDER 1 SPECIFIC SERVICES UNDER DEPARTMENT OF 2 VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMUNITY CARE CON- 3 TRACTS. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 17 of 5 title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 6 end the following new section: 7 ‘‘§ 1730D. Annual report on veteran access to gender 8 specific services under community care 9 contracts 10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall submit to 11 the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 12 the House of Representatives an annual report on the ac- 13 cess of women veterans to gender specific services under 14 contracts, agreements, or other arrangements with non- 15 Department medical providers entered into by the Sec- 16 retary for the provision of hospital care or medical services 17 to veterans. Such report shall include data and perform- 18 ance measures for the availability of gender specific serv- 19 ices, including— 20 ‘‘(1) the average wait time between the vet- 21 eran’s preferred appointment date and the date on 22 which the appointment is completed; 23 ‘‘(2) the average driving time required for vet- 24 erans to attend appointments; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4096.IH H4096 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4096 IH ‘‘(3) reasons why appointments could not be 1 scheduled with non-Department medical providers. 2 ‘‘(b) GENDER SPECIFIC SERVICES.—In this section, 3 the term ‘gender specific services’ means mammography, 4 obstetric care, gynecological care, and such other services 5 as the Secretary determines appropriate.’’. 6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 7 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 8 after the item relating to section 1730C the following new 9 item: 10 ‘‘1730D. Annual report on veteran access to gender specific services under com- munity care contracts.’’. SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF ENVIRONMENT OF CARE 11 STANDARDS AND INSPECTIONS AT DEPART- 12 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CEN- 13 TERS. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 15 shall establish a policy under which— 16 (1) the environment of care standards and in- 17 spections at Department of Veterans Affairs medical 18 centers include— 19 (A) an alignment of the requirements for 20 such standards and inspections with the wom- 21 en’s health handbook of the Veterans Health 22 Administration; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4096.IH H4096 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4096 IH (B) a requirement for the frequency of 1 such inspections; 2 (C) delineation of the roles and responsibil- 3 ities of staff at the medical center who are re- 4 sponsible for compliance; and 5 (D) the requirement that each medical cen- 6 ter submit to the Secretary a report on the 7 compliance of the medical center with the 8 standards; and 9 (2) for the purposes of the End of Year Hos- 10 pital Star Rating, no medical center is eligible for a 11 five star rating as reported under the Strategic Ana- 12 lytics for Improvement and Learning Value Model 13 unless it meets the environment of care standards. 14 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 15 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 16 to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 17 House of Representatives certification in writing that the 18 policy required by subsection (a) has been finalized and 19 disseminated to Department all medical centers. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4096.IH H4096 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS