Women Veterans Access to Quality Care Act of 2015
The source supplies the latest action, but no lifecycle stage.
Latest action (3 Jun 2015): Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-201.
What this bill does
This bill, the Women Veterans Access to Quality Care Act of 2015, would direct the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish standards for its medical facilities to ensure they can adequately meet the specific health care needs of women veterans, including privacy, safety, and dignity. These standards would be incorporated into how the VA prioritizes funding for major facility projects and leases. The VA would also be required to use health outcomes for women veterans when evaluating the performance of its medical center directors and publish this information along with facility-specific health outcome data for women veterans on its website.
Additionally, the bill mandates that every VA medical center must have a full-time obstetrician or gynecologist and proposes a pilot program to increase residency and graduate medical education positions for these specialists. The VA would also develop procedures to electronically share veterans' military service and separation data, contact information, and addresses with state veterans agencies to help provide assistance and benefits, though veterans could opt out of this information sharing.
Finally, the bill calls for the Government Accountability Office to examine whether VA medical centers are equipped to meet the health care needs of women veterans. This bill was introduced in the Senate in February 2015 and has not advanced beyond that stage.
Plain-English summary generated by Bill100 AI from the official record. Always verify against the source below.
Official summary
Women Veterans Access to Quality Care Act of 2015
Directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) establish standards to ensure that all VA medical facilities 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) integrate such standards into its prioritization methodology with respect to requests for funding major medical facility projects and major medical facility leases; and (3) report on such standards, including regarding the facilities that fail to meet such standards and the costs of projects and leases required to meet them.
Requires the VA to: (1) use health outcomes for women veterans furnished health care by the the VA in evaluating the performance of VA medical center directors, (2) publish on its website information on such performance and on health outcomes for women veterans for each VA medical facility, (3) ensure that every VA medical center has a full-time obstetrician or gynecologist, and (4) carry out a pilot program to increase the number of residency program positions and graduate medical education positions for obstetricians and gynecologists at VA medical facilities in not less than three Veterans Integrated Service Networks.
Directs the VA to develop procedures to share information that includes military service and separation data, personal email addresses and telephone numbers, and mailing addresses of veterans with state veterans agencies in electronic format as a means of facilitating the furnishing of assistance and benefits to such veterans. Allows a veteran to elect to prevent their information from being shared.
Directs the Government Accountability Office to carry out an examination of whether VA medical centers are able to meet the health care needs of women veterans.
Timeline
3 Jun 2015
Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-201.
Common questions
- What does S. 471 do?
- This bill, the Women Veterans Access to Quality Care Act of 2015, would direct the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish standards for its medical facilities to ensure they can adequately meet the specific health care needs of women veterans, including privacy, safety, and dignity. These standards would be incorporated into how the VA prioritizes funding for major facility projects and leases. The VA would also be required to use health outcomes for women veterans when evaluating the performance of its medical center directors and publish this information along with facility-specific health outcome data for women veterans on its website. Additionally, the bill mandates that every VA medical center must have a full-time obstetrician or gynecologist and proposes a pilot program to increase residency and graduate medical education positions for these specialists. The VA would also develop procedures to electronically share veterans' military service and separation data, contact information, and addresses with state veterans agencies to help provide assistance and benefits, though veterans could opt out of this information sharing. Finally, the bill calls for the Government Accountability Office to examine whether VA medical centers are equipped to meet the health care needs of women veterans. This bill was introduced in the Senate in February 2015 and has not advanced beyond that stage.
- Has S. 471 become law?
- The source does not supply a confirmed lifecycle stage for S. 471. Check the latest action and official source below.
- Who sponsored S. 471?
- S. 471 was sponsored by Sen. Heller, Dean [R-NV] (R-NV), with 18 cosponsors.
- What's the latest action on S. 471?
- Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-201. (3 Jun 2015).
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