[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2982 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2982

 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a study of the 
   barriers for women veterans to health care from the Department of 
                           Veterans Affairs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 23, 2019

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a study of the 
   barriers for women veterans to health care from the Department of 
                           Veterans Affairs.

    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 Health Care 
Accountability Act''.

SEC. 2. STUDY OF BARRIERS FOR WOMEN VETERANS TO HEALTH CARE FROM THE 
              DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Study Required.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
conduct a comprehensive study of the barriers to the provision of 
comprehensive health care by the Department of Veterans Affairs 
encountered by women who are veterans. In conducting the study, the 
Secretary shall--
            (1) survey women veterans who seek or receive hospital care 
        or medical services provided by the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs as well as women veterans who do not seek or receive 
        such care or services;
            (2) administer the survey to a representative sample of 
        women veterans from each Veterans Integrated Service Network; 
        and
            (3) ensure that the sample of women veterans surveyed is of 
        sufficient size for the study results to be statistically 
        significant and is a larger sample than that of the study 
        referred to in subsection (b)(1).
    (b) Use of Previous Studies.--In conducting the study required by 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall build on the work of the studies of 
the Department of Veterans Affairs titled--
            (1) ``National Survey of Women Veterans in Fiscal Year 
        2007-2008''; and
            (2) ``Study of Barriers for Women Veterans to VA Health 
        Care 2015''.
    (c) Elements of Study.--In conducting the study required by 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall conduct research on the effects of 
the following on the women veterans surveyed in the study:
            (1) The perceived stigma associated with seeking mental 
        health care services.
            (2) The effect of driving distance or availability of other 
        forms of transportation to the nearest medical facility on 
        access to care.
            (3) The availability of child care.
            (4) The acceptability of integrated primary care, women's 
        health clinics, or both.
            (5) The comprehension of eligibility requirements for, and 
        the scope of services available under, hospital care and 
        medical services.
            (6) The perception of personal safety and comfort in 
        inpatient, outpatient, and behavioral health facilities.
            (7) The gender sensitivity of health care providers and 
        staff to issues that particularly affect women.
            (8) The effectiveness of outreach for health care services 
        available to women veterans.
            (9) The location and operating hours of health care 
        facilities that provide services to women veterans.
            (10) Such other significant barriers as the Secretary 
        considers appropriate.
    (d) Discharge by Contract.--The Secretary shall enter into a 
contract with a qualified independent entity or organization to carry 
out the study and research required under this section.
    (e) Mandatory Review of Data by Certain Department Divisions.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall ensure that the head 
        of each division of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
        specified in paragraph (2) reviews the results of the study 
        conducted under this section. The head of each such division 
        shall submit findings with respect to the study to the Under 
        Secretary for responsibilities relating to health care services 
        for women veterans.
            (2) Specified divisions.--The divisions of the Department 
        of Veterans Affairs specified in this paragraph are the 
        following:
                    (A) The Center for Women Veterans established under 
                section 318 of title 38, United States Code.
                    (B) The Advisory Committee on Women Veterans 
                established under section 542 of such title.
    (f) Report.--Not later than 30 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 
on the study required under this section. The report shall include 
recommendations for such administrative and legislative action as the 
Secretary considers appropriate. The report shall also include the 
findings of the head of each division of the Department specified under 
subsection (e)(2) and of the Under Secretary for Health.
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