To designate Regional Breast and Gynecologic Cancer Care Coordinators to expand the work of the Breast and Gynecologic Oncology System of Excellence at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Additional sponsors: Ms. McClellan, Mr. Gottheimer, Ms. Titus, Ms. Elfreth, …
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Ms. Garcia of Texas (for herself and Ms. Brownley) introduced …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill establishes Regional Breast and Gynecologic Cancer Care Coordinators at each Veterans Integrated Services Network to improve cancer care for women veterans. These coordinators will bridge the gap between VA facilities and outside community healthcare providers, ensuring better tracking of patient outcomes and more coordinated treatment plans. The bill also extends certain veteran pension payment limits by 10 months.
Who Benefits and How
Women veterans diagnosed with breast or gynecologic cancers benefit from enhanced care coordination, particularly those in rural areas who rely on community healthcare providers outside the VA system. These veterans will receive regular check-ins from dedicated coordinators, better information about emergency care options and mental health resources, and improved tracking of their health outcomes. The VA's Breast and Gynecologic Oncology System of Excellence gains expanded reach and capabilities through dedicated regional coordinators. Veterans receiving certain pensions benefit from a 10-month extension of current payment limits, maintaining their benefit levels through September 2032.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Department of Veterans Affairs must hire or designate care coordinators at each of its Veterans Integrated Services Networks (currently 18 networks), establish new regional coordination systems, implement patient outcome monitoring databases, and submit detailed reports to Congress comparing health outcomes between VA and community care providers. This represents significant administrative burden and staffing costs. Community healthcare providers who treat women veterans for cancer will face increased coordination requirements, including regular communication with VA coordinators and information sharing, though this may be offset by improved care processes. The federal budget bears the cost of the 10-month pension payment extension, though this is relatively modest given the limited scope.
Key Provisions
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Mandates hiring or designation of a Regional Breast and Gynecologic Cancer Care Coordinator at each VISN within one year of enactment, with all coordinators reporting to the Breast and Gynecologic Oncology System of Excellence Director
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Requires coordinators to monitor health outcomes including remission rates, cancer-related deaths, and treatment timeliness; make regular contact with veterans receiving community care; and coordinate between VA clinicians and outside cancer specialists
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Directs coordinators to provide veterans with specific information about accessing emergency care at the nearest facility (with guidance to notify the VA within 72 hours) and about available mental health resources for depression
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Requires the VA Secretary to submit a comprehensive report to Congress within three years comparing health outcomes, care timeliness, and patient safety between VA facilities and community providers, including analysis of "never events" (serious medical errors)
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Extends the sunset date for certain veteran pension payment limits from November 30, 2031 to September 30, 2032
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
This bill establishes Regional Breast and Gynecologic Cancer Care Coordinators at each Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN) to improve cancer care coordination for women veterans, particularly those receiving care from community providers. It also extends payment limits for veteran pensions.
Policy Domains
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- "bgosoe_director"
- → Director of the Breast and Gynecologic Oncology System of Excellence
- "care_coordinator"
- → Regional Breast Cancer and Gynecologic Cancer Care Coordinator
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Breast and Gynecologic Oncology System of Excellence at the Department of Veterans Affairs
Regional Breast Cancer and Gynecologic Cancer Care Coordinator hired or designated at each VISN who reports to the BGOSoE Director
A veteran diagnosed with breast or gynecologic cancer (or precancerous condition) who is eligible for Veterans Community Care Program at a non-VA facility
Includes cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, vaginal cancer, vulvar cancer, and gestational trophoblastic neoplasia
A health care provider under section 1703(c) of title 38 who has contracted to furnish care to veterans (excluding breast and gynecologic cancer care)
A provider under section 1703(c) of title 38 who has contracted to furnish breast or gynecologic cancer care to veterans
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology