This Act ensures that veterans living in rural areas have dedicated access to patient advocates at VA medical facilities.
John Moolenaar
Representative
MI-2
The Veterans Patient Advocacy Act ensures that veterans living in rural areas have reliable access to patient advocates at VA medical facilities. This requires the VA to assign advocates specifically to community-based outpatient clinics in rural locations. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs must implement these changes within two years, followed by a GAO review of the implementation progress.
VA Mandates Patient Advocates for Rural Clinics: Two-Year Deadline to Close Access Gap for Veterans
The newly proposed Veterans Patient Advocacy Act zeros in on a simple but critical problem: veterans in rural areas often can’t get access to a patient advocate at the VA when they need one. This bill aims to fix that by requiring the VA Director to ensure that veterans living in rural areas can reach patient advocates. Specifically, the VA must “try their best” to assign patient advocates directly to the community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) that serve these rural communities (Sec. 2).
The Rural Access Fix: Bringing the Help Closer
Think of a patient advocate as your personal translator and troubleshooter when navigating the often-confusing VA system—someone who can help you appeal a decision, understand your rights, or untangle a billing mess. For a veteran living hours away from a major VA medical center, getting that help is a major hurdle. This legislation addresses that by mandating that those smaller, local rural clinics must get dedicated advocate support. This is a direct change to existing law (adding subsection (e) to Section 7309A of title 38, United States Code).
The Clock is Ticking: Two Years to Implement
The VA Secretary isn't being given forever to make this happen. The bill sets a firm deadline: the new rule about rural access must be fully implemented no later than two years after the Act becomes law (Sec. 2). This timeline creates immediate pressure on the VA to figure out the logistics—which likely means reallocating or hiring staff to fill these new roles in remote clinics. While the bill uses the slightly soft language of requiring the VA to “try their best” to assign advocates, the overall mandate and the hard deadline indicate a serious commitment to improving service access.
Accountability Check: The GAO Is Watching
To ensure this isn’t just a nice idea that fades away, the bill includes a strong accountability measure. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), which is essentially the federal government’s watchdog, must review how the VA is doing on implementation. The GAO is required to submit a report detailing the progress to the Congressional Veterans Affairs Committees within that same two-year window (Sec. 2). This means that before the deadline hits, Congress will get an independent assessment of whether the VA is actually succeeding in closing the rural access gap. For veterans, this oversight mechanism is crucial; it ensures the VA can’t just delay or ignore the mandate without public scrutiny.