[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9002 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9002
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a pilot
program for gynecologic cancer care coordination at the Department of
Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 28, 2022
Ms. Garcia of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a pilot
program for gynecologic cancer care coordination at 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 ``Veterans' Cancer Care Coordinator
Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM ON GYNECOLOGIC CANCER CARE COORDINATION.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
establish a pilot program (in this section referred to as the
``Program'') for gynecologic cancer care coordination at the Department
of Veterans Affairs, including through the designation of a gynecologic
cancer care coordinator of the Department.
(b) Eligible Participants.--A veteran is eligible to participate in
the program if the veteran--
(1) has been diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer; and
(2) is eligible for health care furnished through the
Veterans Community Care Program under section 1703 of title 38,
United States Code, at a non-Department facility.
(c) Locations.--The Secretary shall select not fewer than five
medical centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs at which to carry
out the Program, including one medical center that primarily serves
rural veterans, as determined by the Secretary.
(d) Duties of Gynecologic Cancer Care Coordinator.--Under the
Program, the designated gynecologic cancer care coordinator shall be
responsible for carrying out the following duties:
(1) Ensuring the coordination of care between--
(A) clinicians of the Department and community
gynecologic cancer care providers;
(B) clinicians of the Department, Women's Veteran
Program Managers, and Women's Health Medical Directors;
and
(C) any other relevant clinicians of the Department
and community care providers who provide care to
participating veterans.
(2) Working with the Office of Community Care of the
relevant medical facility of the Department regarding
authorizations of care in the community, including for
participating veterans whose mental health screening results
indicate the presence of military sexual trauma, depression,
domestic or intimate partner violence, or post-traumatic stress
disorder.
(3) Making regular contact with each participating veteran
when the veteran receives care from a community care provider
to evaluate the needs of the veteran, including through an
assessment of the mental health of the veteran (including as
such mental health and trauma history related to the cancer
diagnosis of the veteran).
(4) Monitoring--
(A) the services furnished under the Program to
participating veterans;
(B) the outcomes relating to the health of such
participating veterans, including remission,
metastasis, and death; and
(C) the data relating to gynecologic cancer care
collected at a medical facility of the Department
(using relevant databases of the Veterans Health
Administration or other Department databases),
including--
(i) the demographics of participating
veterans who have gynecologic cancer; and
(ii) the number of participating veterans
being treated for gynecologic cancer.
(5) Providing particular information to participating
veterans, including--
(A) how to seek emergency care at the emergency
department closest to the veteran, including the
requirement for the veteran or the community care
provider to notify the Department when the veteran
receives emergency treatment relating to the cancer of
the veteran for the Department to authorize payment for
such emergency treatment; and
(B) information about mental health resources,
including with respect to information encouraging
follow-up care for depression.
(6) Documenting certain information in the electronic
health records of participating veterans, including--
(A) the documentation of the contact described in
paragraph (3);
(B) the contact information of the community
gynecologic cancer care providers of such participating
veterans; and
(C) the cancer diagnosis of such participating
veterans.
(7) Carrying out such other duties as may be determined
appropriate by the Secretary.
(e) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than two years after the date on
which the Secretary commences the Program, the Secretary shall
submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and
the House of Representatives a report containing the following:
(A) A comparison of the outcomes of veterans who
have participated in the Program to the outcomes of
non-participating veterans described in paragraph (2),
including with respect to the following:
(i) Health outcomes, including (for the
most recent two years of available data)--
(I) the percentage of such veterans
who have experienced a cancer-related
death;
(II) the percentage of such
veterans who have entered remission for
gynecologic cancer; and
(III) the percentage of such
veterans who have been diagnosed with
mental health disorders determined
relevant by the Secretary for purposes
of the comparison (including anxiety,
depression, and post-traumatic stress
disorder).
(ii) Timeliness of care furnished under
chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code,
including the average time that elapses between
the initial diagnosis and each successive stage
of treatment for gynecologic cancer.
(iii) Patient safety associated with such
care, including the number of errors in medical
care that rise to the level of ``never events''
(such as a foreign body left in a veteran
during surgery).
(iv) Patient satisfaction associated with
such care, including the results of a patient
satisfaction survey administered to such
veterans on the receipt of adequate pain
management from health care providers of the
Department, mental health resources from such
providers, and overall quality of such care.
(B) An evaluation of whether to expand the Program
or make such Program permanent.
(C) Any other matter the Secretary determines
appropriate.
(2) Non-participating veterans described.--A non-
participating veteran described in this paragraph is a female
veteran who--
(A) has not participated in the Program;
(B) is enrolled in the patient enrollment system of
the Department of Veterans Affairs established and
operated under section 1705 of title 38, United States
Code; and
(C) has been diagnosed with gynecologic cancer.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``community care provider'' means a health
care provider located at a non-Department facility who provides
care (other than care related to gynecologic cancer) to
veterans under section 1703 of title 38, United States Code, or
any other law administered by the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs.
(2) The term ``community gynecologic cancer care provider''
means a gynecologic cancer care provider located at a non-
Department facility who provides care related to gynecologic
cancer to veterans under section 1703 of title 38, United
States Code, or any other law administered by the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs.
(3) The term ``gynecologic cancer'' means cervical cancer,
ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, vaginal cancer, and vulvar
cancer.
(4) The term ``non-Department facilities'' has the meaning
given that term in section 1701 of title 38, United States
Code.
(5) The term ``participating veteran'' means a veteran who
is participating in the Program.
(6) The term ``Women's Health Medical Director'' means a
Women's Health Medical Director described in the directive of
the Veterans Health Administration titled ``Health Care
Services for Women Veterans'' (directive 1330.01), or any
successor directive.
(7) The term ``Women's Veteran Program Manager'' means a
Women's Veterans Program Manager described in the directive of
the Veterans Health Administration titled ``Women Veterans
Program Manager'' (directive 1330.02), or any successor
directive.
<all>