S 1134 Re-checks Congress.gov for new actions and updates the bill's status, and fills in any sponsors, committees, or related bills that are missing. It does not re-pull sponsors/cosponsors/committees/related — those rarely change — and it skips all work if nothing has changed upstream, so it's cheap to click.
Strengthening VA Patient Advocacy for Rural Veterans Act of 2025
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the Office of Patient Advocacy of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Summary
The bill amends federal law to strengthen the patient advocacy function at the Department of Veterans Affairs, particularly for rural veterans. It requires each VA medical center to designate at least one patient advocate to serve as a coordinator for rural and highly-rural veterans receiving care through community-based clinics and the community care network outside of VA medical centers. The bill establishes that patient advocates at medical centers must report to the medical center director's office in their reporting structure. The bill also requires the VA Secretary to submit annual reports to Congress on data from the Patient Advocate Tracking System, including information on common issues, resolution times, and feedback received.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Sen. Cramer, Kevin [R-ND] (R-ND)
1 cosponsor
- Sen. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV] (D-NV)
Actions (2)
- Mar 26, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. · senate
- Mar 26, 2025 Introduced in Senate
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 26, 2025
Mr. Cramer (for himself and Ms. Rosen) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the Office of Patient Advocacy of 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 “Strengthening VA Patient Advocacy for Rural Veterans Act of 2025”.
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF OFFICE OF PATIENT ADVOCACY OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
Section 7309A of title 38, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (i); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following new subsections:
“(f) Coordination of Care in Rural and Highly Rural Areas.—(1) The director of a medical center of the Department shall designate not fewer than one patient advocate to serve as the coordinator for veterans in rural and highly-rural areas served by that medical center who are receiving care through the broader network of care furnished by the Department through community-based outpatient clinics or the community care network.
“(2) An individual designated under paragraph (1) shall carry out the functions of the patient advocate position specific to supporting veterans in rural and highly-rural areas receiving care at locations outside of a medical center of the Department.
“(3) To the maximum extent practicable, the director of a medical center shall designate existing staff of the medical center to carry out paragraph (1).
“(g) Inclusion of Medical Center Directors in Chain of Reporting.—The Director shall ensure that a patient advocate at a medical center of the Department reports to the director of that medical center at some point along the reporting line for the patient advocate.
“(h) Annual Report on Information in Patient Advocate Tracking System.—(1) Not less frequently than annually, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the Director of each Veterans Integrated Service Network a report outlining information generated through the Patient Advocate Tracking System, or successor system.
“(2) Each report required under paragraph (1) shall include de- identified data from the Patient Advocate Tracking System, or successor system, regarding—
“(A) common issues reported;
“(B) resolution times for such issues;
“(C) resolution times for requests for information; and
“(D) compliments or complaints received under such system.”. <all>
Comments