[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2216 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.2216

                     One Hundred Sixteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday,
            the third day of January, two thousand and twenty


                                 An Act


 
   To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to formally recognize 
   caregivers of veterans, notify veterans and caregivers of clinical 
determinations relating to eligibility for the family caregiver program, 
    and temporarily extend benefits for veterans who are determined 
  ineligible for the family caregiver program, 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 ``Transparency and Effective 
Accountability Measures for Veteran Caregivers Act'' or the ``TEAM 
Veteran Caregivers Act''.
SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF ADMINISTRATION OF CAREGIVER PROGRAMS OF 
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
    (a) Formal Recognition of Caregivers.--
        (1) Report.--
            (A) In general.--Not later than 60 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 
        regarding the feasibility and advisability of formally 
        recognizing all caregivers of veterans by identifying any 
        caregiver of a veteran in the electronic health record of the 
        veteran.
            (B) Caregivers recognized.--The recognition of caregivers 
        described in subparagraph (A) shall include recognition of --
                (i) any family caregiver who is approved as a provider 
            of personal care services for an eligible veteran under the 
            program of comprehensive assistance for family caregivers 
            under subsection (a) of section 1720G of title 38, United 
            States Code; and
                (ii) any caregiver of a covered veteran participating 
            in the program of general caregiver support services under 
            subsection (b) of such section.
            (C) Timeline.--If the Secretary determines that formally 
        recognizing all caregivers of veterans as described in 
        subparagraph (A) is feasible and advisable, the report required 
        by such subparagraph shall include a timeline for implementing 
        such recognition.
        (2) Implementation.--If the Secretary determines that formally 
    recognizing all caregivers of veterans as described in paragraph 
    (1)(A) is feasible and advisable, the Secretary shall implement 
    such recognition in accordance with the timeline included in the 
    report required by such paragraph.
    (b) Notifications, Extension of Benefits, and Discharge From Family 
Caregiver Program.--Section 1720G(a) of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
    ``(12)(A) The Secretary shall notify the individuals described in 
subparagraph (C) regarding decisions affecting the furnishing of 
assistance under this subsection using standardized letters, as the 
Secretary determines such notifications and letters to be appropriate.
    ``(B) A notification provided under subparagraph (A) shall include 
the elements required for notices of decisions under section 5104(b) of 
this title to the extent that those elements apply to such 
notification, unless, not later than 60 days after the date of the 
enactment of the Transparency and Effective Accountability Measures for 
Veteran Caregivers Act, the Secretary determines that it would not be 
feasible to include such elements in such notifications and submits to 
the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives a report setting 
forth the reasons for such determination.
    ``(C) The individuals described in this subparagraph shall 
include--
        ``(i) an individual who submits an application for the program 
    established under paragraph (1);
        ``(ii) an individual determined by the Secretary to be an 
    eligible veteran pursuant to such an application; and
        ``(iii) a family caregiver of an eligible veteran who is--
            ``(I) approved as a provider of personal care services 
        under paragraph (6)(B); or
            ``(II) designated as a primary provider of personal care 
        services under paragraph (7)(A).
    ``(13)(A) If the Secretary determines that a veteran receiving 
services under the program established under paragraph (1) is no longer 
eligible for such program solely because of improvement in the 
condition of the veteran--
        ``(i) the effective date of discharge of the veteran from the 
    program shall be not earlier than the date that is 60 days after 
    the date on which the Secretary provides notice of such lack of 
    eligibility under paragraph (12)(A) to the relevant individuals 
    described in paragraph (12)(C); and
        ``(ii) the Secretary shall extend benefits under the program 
    established under paragraph (1) for a family caregiver of the 
    veteran described in paragraph (12)(C)(iii), including stipends 
    under paragraph (3)(A)(ii)(V), if such an extension is determined 
    appropriate by the Secretary, for a 90-day period following 
    discharge of the veteran from the program.
    ``(B) This paragraph shall not be construed to limit the authority 
of the Secretary--
        ``(i) to prescribe regulations addressing other bases for--
            ``(I) the discharge of a veteran from the program 
        established under paragraph (1); or
            ``(II) the revocation of the designation of a family 
        caregiver of a veteran as a primary provider of personal care 
        services under paragraph (7)(A); or
        ``(ii) to provide advance notice and extended benefits under 
    the program, as appropriate, if another basis for discharge of a 
    veteran described in subclause (I) of clause (i) or revocation of a 
    designation described in subclause (II) of such clause applies.''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.