[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 471 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 471

   To improve the provision of health care for women veterans by the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 12, 2015

Mr. Heller (for himself and Mrs. Murray) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To improve the provision of health care for women veterans by 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 ``Women Veterans Access to Quality 
Care Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF STRUCTURAL STANDARDS TO MEET GENDER-SPECIFIC 
              HEALTH CARE NEEDS IN MEDICAL FACILITIES OF DEPARTMENT OF 
              VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
        establish standards to ensure that all medical facilities of 
        the Department of Veterans Affairs have the structural 
        characteristics necessary to adequately meet the gender-
        specific health care needs of veterans at such facilities, 
        including privacy, safety, and dignity.
            (2) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate 
        regulations to carry out paragraph (1).
    (b) Integration Into Prioritization Methodology.--Not later than 
270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
shall integrate the standards established under subsection (a)(1) into 
the prioritization methodology used by the Department under paragraph 
(5) of section 8104(b) of title 38, United States Code, with respect to 
requests for the funding of major medical facility projects and major 
medical facility leases under such section.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 450 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs 
of the House of Representatives a report on the standards established 
under subsection (a)(1) that includes the following:
            (1) A list of the medical facilities of the Department that 
        fail to meet such standards.
            (2) The minimum total cost of the projects or leases that 
        would be required to ensure that all medical facilities of the 
        Department meet such standards.
            (3) The number of such projects or leases that qualify as a 
        major medical facility project or major medical facility lease 
        under section 8104(a)(3).
            (4) Where each such project or lease is located in the 
        current project prioritization of the Department.

SEC. 3. USE OF HEALTH OUTCOMES FOR WOMEN VETERANS IN EVALUATING THE 
              PERFORMANCE OF DIRECTORS OF MEDICAL CENTERS OF DEPARTMENT 
              AND DISCLOSURE OF HEALTH OUTCOMES.

    (a) Evaluation of Directors.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall use health outcomes for women veterans furnished hospital care, 
medical services, and other health care by the Department of Veterans 
Affairs in evaluating the performance of directors of medical centers 
of the Department.
    (b) Public Availability.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall publish on an Internet 
        website of the Department available to the public information 
        on the performance of directors of medical centers of the 
        Department with respect to health outcomes for women veterans.
            (2) Data on health outcomes.--The Secretary shall publish 
        on an Internet website that is available to the public of each 
        medical facility of the Department the following:
                    (A) Data on health outcomes pursuant to key health 
                outcome metrics at such facility for veterans who are 
                women.
                    (B) A comparison of how such data compares to data 
                on health outcomes pursuant to key health outcome 
                metrics at such facility for veterans who are men.
                    (C) Explanatory or clarifying information necessary 
                for members of the public to understand the data under 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B).

SEC. 4. INCREASE IN NUMBER OF OBSTETRICIANS AND GYNECOLOGISTS OF 
              DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Requirement.--Not later than 540 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure 
that every medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs has a 
full-time obstetrician or gynecologist.
    (b) Pilot Program on Increase of Residency and Medical Education 
Positions.--Not later than two years after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry out a pilot 
program to increase the number of residency program positions and 
graduate medical education positions for obstetricians and 
gynecologists at medical facilities of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs in not less than three Veterans Integrated Service Networks of 
the Department.

SEC. 5. PROCEDURES FOR PROVISION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION TO STATE 
              VETERANS AGENCIES TO FACILITATE THE FURNISHING OF 
              ASSISTANCE AND BENEFITS TO VETERANS.

    (a) Procedures Required.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
develop procedures to share the information described in subsection (b) 
regarding veterans with State veterans agencies in electronic data 
format as a means of facilitating the furnishing of assistance and 
benefits to veterans.
    (b) Covered Information.--The information shared with State 
veterans agencies under subsection (a) regarding a veteran shall 
include the following:
            (1) Military service and separation data.
            (2) A personal email address.
            (3) A personal telephone number.
            (4) A mailing address.
    (c) Opt-Out Election.--A veteran may elect to prevent their 
information from being shared with State veterans agencies under 
subsection (a) pursuant to a process that the Secretary shall establish 
for purposes of this subsection.
    (d) Use of Information.--The Secretary shall ensure that the 
information shared with State veterans agencies in accordance with the 
procedures developed under subsection (a) is only shared by such 
agencies with county government veterans service offices for such 
purposes as the Secretary shall specify for the administration and 
delivery of assistance and benefits.

SEC. 6. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON ABILITY OF MEDICAL CENTERS OF 
              DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO MEET HEALTH CARE NEEDS 
              OF WOMEN VETERANS.

    (a) In General.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
carry out an examination of whether the medical centers of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs are able to meet the health care needs 
of women veterans.
    (b) Elements.--The examination under subsection (a) shall address, 
with respect to each medical center of the Department, at a minimum, 
the following:
            (1) The wait times for women veterans for appointments for 
        the receipt of hospital care, medical services, or other health 
        care.
            (2) Whether the medical center has a clinic that 
        specializes in the treatment of women.
            (3) The number of full-time obstetricians or gynecologists.
            (4) The number of health professionals trained in women's 
        health.
            (5) The extent to which the medical center conducts 
        regular--
                    (A) training on issues specific to women's health; 
                and
                    (B) sensitivity training.
            (6) The differences in health outcomes between men and 
        women.
            (7) The security and privacy measures used in registration, 
        clinical, and diagnostic areas.
            (8) The availability of gender-specific equipment or 
        procedures.
            (9) The extent to which the Center for Women Veterans of 
        the Department advises and engages with the medical center with 
        respect to providing health care to women veterans.
            (10) The extent to which the medical center implements 
        directives from the Center for Women Veterans.
            (11) The outreach conducted by the Department to women 
        veterans in the community served by the medical center.
            (12) The collaboration between the medical center and non-
        Department entities, including veterans service organizations, 
        to meet the health care needs of women veterans.
            (13) The effectiveness of Patient Aligned Care Teams in 
        meeting the health care needs of women veterans.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the 
examination carried out under subsection (a).
    (d) Veterans Service Organization Defined.--In this section, the 
term ``veterans service organization'' means an organization recognized 
by the Secretary for the representation of veterans under section 5902 
of title 38, United States Code.
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