Rural Veterans Improvement Act of 2015
Latest action · Nov 10, 2015 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedNov 10, 2015
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Rural Veterans Improvement Act of 2015
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) shall provide mental health care to a veteran who:
- has a mental health issue resulting from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, or other health condition incurred or aggravated on active duty; and
- lives in a rural or highly rural area.
Such care may be provided by contracting with or providing payments to mental health care providers that are not VA-affiliated.
Care shall be provided if:
- a VA-affiliated mental health care provider is not available at the nearest VA medical facility and in-person and telehealth VA mental health care services are not available, or travel to a regional VA medical center is impractical or severely detrimental to the veteran's health; and
- a VA-affiliated mental health care provider has recommended a complementary and alternative therapy to a veteran who is a member of an Indian tribe or a Native Hawaiian who requests a healing method that is part of his or her cultural tradition.
The VA may:
- award grants to state veterans agencies, veterans service organizations, and tribal organizations to provide transportation to and from medical centers to veterans in rural and highly rural areas who would otherwise be eligible for payment of travel expenses by the VA; and
- carry out a pilot program to assess the feasibility of providing a housing allowance to health care providers who become VA employees and accept assignment at rural or highly rural community-based outpatient clinics.
The VA shall establish a program to train health care professionals for assignment at community-based outpatient clinics that predominantly serve veterans who live in rural and highly rural areas.
The VA and the Department of Defense shall jointly establish a program to encourage members of the Armed Forces with a health care-related military occupational specialty to seek post-service employment with the Veterans Health Administration.
The VA shall:
- periodically assess rural community-based outpatient clinics to determine whether their expansion and improvement are feasible or advisable, and
- report on the feasibility of establishing a Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site in each area in which the nearest such center or site is more than 300 miles away.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Nov 10, 2015.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-KS | Jerry Moran | Original | Nov 10, 2015 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Nov 10, 2015Introduced in Senate
- Nov 10, 2015Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
- Alaska Natives and Hawaiians
- Alternative treatments
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Congressional oversight
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Health care coverage and access
- Health facilities and institutions
- Health personnel
- Home and outpatient care
- Indian social and development programs
- Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
- Medical education
- Mental health
- Military medicine
- Minority health
- Neurological disorders
- Public contracts and procurement
- Rural conditions and development
- Transportation costs
- Veterans' medical care
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Nov 10, 2015Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.