Official Summaries

Veterans Patient Advocacy Act

This bill requires the Office of Patient Advocacy within the Veterans Health Administration to ensure that rural veterans may access the services of patient advocates. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to report on the implementation of such policies.

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2068 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2068

  To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the assignment of 
 patient advocates at medical facilities of the Department of Veterans 
                    Affairs, and for other purposes.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 11, 2025

 Mr. Moolenaar (for himself and Mrs. Dingell) introduced the following 
     bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

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                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the assignment of 
 patient advocates at medical facilities of the Department of Veterans 
                    Affairs, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Patient Advocacy Act''.

SEC. 2. ACCESS FOR RURAL VETERANS TO PATIENT ADVOCATES AT MEDICAL 
              FACILITIES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--Section 7309A of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as subsections 
        (f) and (g), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new 
        subsection (e):
    ``(e) Access to Patient Advocates for Rural Veterans.--The Director 
shall ensure that rural veterans may access the services of patient 
advocates, including, to the extent practicable, with respect to 
assigning patient advocates to rural community-based outpatient 
clinics.''.
    (b) Implementation Date.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
ensure that subsection (e) of such section, as amended by this section, 
is implemented not later than two years after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
    (c) GAO Report.--Not later than two years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of 
Representatives and the Senate a report evaluating the implementation 
under subsection (b).
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