SANE Act of 2025
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner in VA Hospitals Act of 2025, or SANE Act, sets a staffing and referral standard for VA hospitals and urgent care facilities. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs must employ at each such facility at least one sexual assault nurse examiner. If VA cannot employ a SANE, it must employ another health care provider qualified to conduct a sexual assault forensic examination. After a VA provider examines an individual for sexual assault, the provider must verbally refer the individual to VA mental health care services in a VA hospital, or through a Veterans Care Agreement if the VA wait time exceeds 30 days. VA must implement the requirement without reducing or negatively affecting other patient care responsibilities carried out by VA employees.
Who Benefits and How
Veterans and other individuals examined for sexual assault at VA facilities benefit because qualified forensic examiners must be available. Sexual assault survivors benefit because the examining provider must verbally refer them to mental health services after the examination. Patients facing VA mental health waits over 30 days benefit because referral through a Veterans Care Agreement becomes an option. VA hospitals and urgent care facilities benefit from a clearer minimum staffing standard for sexual assault forensic examinations.
Who Bears the Burden and How
VA must employ SANEs or qualified forensic-examination providers at each hospital and urgent care facility. VA facility administrators must staff, schedule, and credential qualified providers without reducing other patient care responsibilities. VA mental health programs and Veterans Care Agreement providers must absorb referrals after sexual assault examinations. Federal taxpayers bear staffing and referral costs.
Key Provisions
- Requires each VA hospital and urgent care facility to employ a sexual assault nurse examiner or qualified forensic-examination provider.
- Requires verbal referral to mental health care after a sexual assault examination.
- Allows referral through a Veterans Care Agreement when VA mental health wait times exceed 30 days.
- Requires implementation without reducing or harming other VA patient care responsibilities.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires each VA hospital and urgent care facility to employ at least one sexual assault nurse examiner or another qualified forensic-examination provider, requires verbal mental health referrals after sexual assault examinations, and allows Veterans Care Agreement referrals if VA mental health waits exceed 30 days without reducing other patient care responsibilities.
Key Policy Areas
Veterans Health, Sexual Assault Care, VA
Primary Purpose
Requires each VA hospital and urgent care facility to employ at least one sexual assault nurse examiner or another qualified forensic-examination provider, requires verbal mental health referrals after sexual assault examinations, and allows Veterans Care Agreement referrals if VA mental health waits exceed 30 days without reducing other patient care responsibilities.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Veterans examined for sexual assault
- Sexual assault survivors at VA facilities
- VA patients needing mental health referral
- VA hospitals
- VA urgent care facilities
Identified Costs
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- VA facility administrators
- VA sexual assault nurse examiners
- VA mental health programs
- Veterans Care Agreement providers
- Federal taxpayers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Mr. Burchett (for himself, Mr. Kennedy of New York, Mrs. …
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced in House
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
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