Establishment of Office of the Ombudsman in Veterans Health Administration

(a)

Office of the Ombudsman

(1)

Establishment

Subchapter I of chapter 73 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

7309.

Office of the Ombudsman

(a)

Office; Directors

There is established in the Veterans Health Administration an Office of the Ombudsman (in this section referred to as the Office). The Office shall be headed by a Director appointed by the Secretary. The Director shall report directly to the Secretary. (b)

Duties of office

The Office shall— (1)be responsible for ensuring— (A)all matters referred to the Office are handled in a confidential manner; and (B)any action taken by the Administration with respect to such a matter does not negatively affect the ability of any veteran to receive health care or benefits under a law administered by the Secretary; and (2)serve as a last resort for complaints and issues that cannot be resolved at a local or regional level in the Administration. (c)

Duties of director

The Director shall— (1)be responsible for overseeing the efforts of patient advocates in the Administration; (2)develop and make available to local offices of the Administration tools for monitoring the work of such patient advocates and standards to evaluate the work of such patient advocates; (3)determine trends, in terms of numbers, topics, and facility locations, in patient issues and complaints; (4)participate in such national quality conferences of the Administration as the Under Secretary for Health may designate; (5)help coordinate assistance for veterans who need assistance from the Administration in more than one region of the Administration; and (6)maintain a public Web site with links to contact information for each patient advocate at each medical center of the Department. (d)

Regional administrators

The Director shall appoint three regional administrators to support facilities of the Administration and veterans integrated service networks in their patient advocacy work, to identify best practices for patient advocacy work and inform such facilities and networks of such best practices, and to receive and refer to the board established under subsection (e) appeals from veterans in their respective regions who are not satisfied with the efforts of their local medical center of the Department and veteran integrated service network. (e)

Board

The Director shall establish a board composed of the Director and the three regional administrators appointed under subsection (d) to hear appeals referred to the board by a regional administrator under subsection (d) and issue a letter explaining the board’s decision regarding such appeal and outlining possible steps for resolving issues raised in such appeal. (f)

Limitation on statutory construction

Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting the authority and responsibility of coordinators of patient advocates for severely injured veterans of Operation of Enduring Freedom and severely injured veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

(2)

Clerical amendment

The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 7308 the following new item:

7309. Office of the Ombudsman.

(b)

Deadline for designation of Ombudsman

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall designate an individual to serve as the Ombudsman of the Veterans Health Administration under section 7309 of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a).