Strengthening VA Patient Advocacy for Rural Veterans Act of 2025
Strengthening VA Patient Advocacy for Rural Veterans Act of 2025 would update the VA’s Office of Patient Advocacy by amending title 38 of the U.S. Code. The core change requires VA medical centers to designate at least one patient advocate to serve as a coordinator for rural and highly rural veterans who receive care through the broader VA network (including community-based outpatient clinics and the community care network). These advocates would focus on coordinating care for rural veterans outside the medical center itself, prioritizing the use of existing staff where possible. The bill also changes the reporting structure by ensuring patient advocates are connected to the medical center director, and it mandates an annual, de-identified public-facing report on the Patient Advocate Tracking System, summarizing common issues, how quickly they’re resolved, requests for information, and feedback such as compliments or complaints. Overall, the measure aims to improve access, communication, and accountability for rural veterans navigating VA care.
Key Points
- 1Designates at least one patient advocate at each VA medical center to coordinate care for rural and highly rural veterans across the broader VA care network (including CBOCs and community care).
- 2Advocates focus on patients receiving care outside the main medical center and should be staffed, to the maximum extent practicable, by existing medical center personnel.
- 3Requires patient advocates to be connected within the medical center’s chain of reporting, ensuring they report to the medical center director.
- 4Adds an annual reporting requirement on information from the Patient Advocate Tracking System (or successor), with de-identified data on common issues, issue resolution times, information requests, and compliments/complaints.
- 5Renumbers and reorganizes the relevant subsections of 38 U.S.C. § 7309A to accommodate these changes (f becomes i; new subsections f–h added).