Veterans Patient Advocacy Act
The Veterans Patient Advocacy Act would add a new requirement to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) statute to improve access to patient advocates for rural veterans. Specifically, it directs the VA Director to ensure rural veterans can access patient advocacy services and, to the extent practicable, to assign patient advocates to rural community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs). The changes would be codified by creating a new subsection within 38 U.S.C. § 7309A. The bill sets a two-year implementation deadline from enactment and mandating a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review within the same period to evaluate how the implementation is proceeding. The effect is to strengthen support for veterans in rural areas who may need help navigating VA health care, complaints, and care coordination.
Key Points
- 1Creates a new subsection (e) in 38 U.S.C. § 7309A requiring access to patient advocates for rural veterans, including assigning advocates to rural CBOCs where practicable.
- 2The Director (VA) must implement the new access provision within two years after enactment.
- 3Requires a GAO evaluation report to be delivered within two years to the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees assessing the implementation.
- 4The bill’s numbering is adjusted by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) to (f) and (g) respectively, to accommodate the new subsection (e).
- 5Title of the bill, as stated, is the “Veterans Patient Advocacy Act.”