1.Display of Women Veterans
Bill of Rights
(a)The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
ensure that the Women Veterans Bill of Rights described in subsection (b) is
printed on signs in accessible formats and displayed prominently and
conspicuously in each facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs and
distributed widely to women veterans.
(b)Women Veterans
Bill of RightsThe Women
Veterans Bill of Rights described in this subsection is a sign stating that
women veterans should have the following rights:
(1)The right to a coordinated, comprehensive,
primary women’s health care, at every Department of Veterans Affairs medical
facility, including the recognized models of best practices, systems, and
structures for care delivery that ensure that every woman veteran has access to
a Department of Veterans Affairs primary care provider who can meet all her
primary care needs, including gender-specific, acute and chronic illness,
preventive, and mental health care.
(2)The right to be
treated with dignity and respect at all Department of Veterans Affairs
facilities.
(3)The right to
innovation in care delivery promoted and incentivized by the Veterans Health
Administration to support local best practices fitted to the particular
configuration and women veteran population.
(4)The right to
request and get treatment by clinicians with specific training and experience
in women’s health issues.
(5)The right to
enhanced capabilities of medical providers, clinical support, non-clinical, and
administrative, to meet the comprehensive health care needs of women
veterans.
(6)The right to
request and expect gender equity in provision of clinical health care
services.
(7)The right to equal
access to health care services as that of their male counterparts.
(8)The right to
parity to their male veteran counterpart regarding the outcome of performance
measures of health care services.
(9)The right to be informed, through outreach
campaigns, of benefits under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs and to be included in Department outreach materials for any benefits
and service to which they are entitled.
(10)The right to be
featured proportionately, including by age and ethnicity, in Department
outreach materials, including electronic and print media that clearly depict
them as being the recipient of the benefits and services provided by the
Department.
(11)The right to be
recognized as an important separate population in new strategic plans for
service delivery within the health care system of the Department of Veterans
Affairs.
(12)The right to
equal consideration in hiring and employment for any job to which they
apply.
(13)The right to
equal consideration in securing Federal contracts.
(14)The right to
equal access and accommodations in homeless programs that will meet their
unique family needs.
(15)The right to have
their claims adjudicated equally, fairly, and accurately without bias or
disparate treatment.
(16)The right to have
their military sexual trauma and other injuries compensated in a way that
reflects the level of trauma sustained.
(17)The right to
expect that all veteran service officers, especially those who are trained by
the Department of Veterans Affairs Training Responsibility Involvement
Preparation program for claims processing, are required to receive training to
be aware of and sensitive to the signs of military sexual trauma, domestic
violence, and personal assault.
(18)The right to the
availability of female personnel to assist them in the disability claims
application and appellate processes of the Department.
(19)The right to the
availability of female compensation and pension examiners.
(20)The right to
expect specialized training be provided to disability rating personnel
regarding military sexual trauma and gender-specific illnesses so that these
claims can be adjudicated more accurately.
(21)The right to
expect the collection of gender-specific data on disability ratings, for the
performance of longitudinal and trend analyses, and for other applicable
purposes.
(22)The right to a
method to identify and track outcomes for all claims involving personal assault
trauma, regardless of the resulting disability.
(23)The right for
women veterans’ programs and women veteran coordinators to be measured and
evaluated for performance, consistency, and accountability.
(24)The right to
burial benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs.
2.Display
of Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights
(a)The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
ensure that the Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights described in
subsection (b) is printed on signs in accessible formats and displayed
prominently and conspicuously in each prosthetics and orthotics clinic of the
Department of Veterans Affairs.
(b)Injured and
Amputee Veterans Bill of RightsThe Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of
Rights described in this subsection is a statement that injured and amputee
veterans should have the following rights:
(1)The right to
access the highest quality prosthetic and orthotic care, including the right to
the most appropriate technology and best qualified practitioners.
(2)The right to
continuity of care in the transition from the Department of Defense health
program to the Department of Veterans Affairs health care system, including
comparable benefits relating to prosthetic and orthotic services.
(3)The right to
select the practitioner that best meets their orthotic and prosthetic needs,
whether or not that practitioner is an employee of the Department of Veterans
Affairs, a private practitioner who has entered into a contract with the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide prosthetic and orthotic services, or a
private practitioner with specialized expertise.
(4)The right to
consistent and portable health care, including the right to obtain comparable
services and technology at any medical facility of the Department of Veterans
Affairs across the country.
(5)The right to
timely and efficient prosthetic and orthotic care, including a speedy
authorization process with expedited authorization available for veterans
visiting from another area of the country.
(6)The right to play
a meaningful role in rehabilitation decisions, including the right to receive a
second opinion regarding prosthetic and orthotic treatment options.
(7)The right to
receive appropriate treatment, including the right to receive both a primary
prosthesis or orthosis and a functional spare.
(8)The right to be
treated with respect and dignity and have an optimal quality of life both
during and after rehabilitation.
(9)The right to
transition and readjust to civilian life in an honorable manner, including by
having ample access to vocational rehabilitation, employment programs, and
housing assistance.
(c)Monitoring and
resolution of complaints
(1)The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, acting through the
veteran liaison at each medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs,
shall collect information relating to the alleged mistreatment of injured and
amputee veterans.
(2)For each fiscal quarter, the veteran liaison at each
medical center of the Department shall submit to the Chief Consultant of
Prosthetics and Sensory Aids of the Department a report on any information
collected under paragraph (1) during that quarter.
(3)Investigation
and addressing of complaintsThe Chief Consultant, in cooperation
with appropriate employees of a medical center of the Department, shall
investigate and address any information collected under paragraph (1) at that
medical center.
3.
(a)Education of
Department employeesThe
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that—
(1)all employees of
the Department of Veterans Affairs receive training on the Women Veterans Bill
of Rights described in section 1; and
(2)employees of the
Department who work at prosthetics and orthotics clinics and who work as
patient advocates with veterans who receive care at such clinics, including
Federal recovery coordinators and case managers, receive training on the
Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights described in section 2.
(b)The Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall conduct outreach to inform veterans about the Women
Veterans Bill of Rights described in section 1 and the Injured and Amputee
Veterans Bill of Rights described in section 2 by—
(1)ensuring that such Bills of Rights are
available on the Internet website of the Department of Veterans Affairs;
and
(2)conducting other
types of outreach targeted at specific groups of veterans, which may include
outreach conducted on other Internet websites or through veterans service
organizations.
4.Exclusion of
certain servicesNothing in
this Act shall be construed to establish a right to any service excluded under
38 CFR 17.38, as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
Passed the House of
Representatives November 30, 2010.
Lorraine C. Miller,
Clerk