HR6835-119

What This Bill Does

The Veterans STAND Act adds an annual preventative evaluation requirement to VA care for veterans with spinal cord injuries or disorders. VA must furnish the evaluation through direct care, referral, or VA telehealth when an eligible veteran elects it. The evaluation must assess risks for related health complications and comorbidities, chronic pain and pain management, dietary and weight management, prosthetic needs and safety, and assistive technology needs, including spinal cord neuromodulation such as noninvasive transcutaneous spinal stimulation, suitability for home use, training, programming, and remote follow-up. VA must consult spinal cord injury program managers, VA clinicians, neuromodulation experts, veterans service organizations, and relevant manufacturers when issuing guidance or rules. VA must provide veterans information about the evaluation and report every two years to the veterans affairs committees on utilization, consultation results, guidance, functional outcomes, mobility, independence, home use, and access barriers.

Who Benefits and How

Veterans with spinal cord injuries or disorders benefit from a recurring evaluation aimed at preventing complications, improving chronic-pain management, checking prosthetic safety, and identifying assistive technologies that could improve mobility or independence. VA clinicians benefit from a clearer statutory checklist for preventive spinal-cord care. Assistive technology manufacturers may benefit when VA guidance and evaluations identify more veterans suited for neuromodulation or other devices.

Who Bears the Burden and How

VA spinal-cord care programs must furnish the annual evaluations, update guidance, consult experts and manufacturers, notify eligible veterans, collect utilization and outcomes data, and report every two years to Congress. VA clinicians and prosthetics staff must perform or coordinate the assessments. Manufacturers that want to influence guidance must participate in consultation and may face evidence questions about device suitability, training, programming, and home use.

Key Provisions

• Requires annual preventative health evaluations for veterans with spinal cord injuries or disorders who elect them.
• Requires assessments of complications, chronic pain, diet, weight, prosthetics, safety, and assistive technology needs.
• Directs VA to consider spinal cord neuromodulation, home use, training, programming, and remote follow-up.
• Requires consultation with VA program managers, clinicians, neuromodulation experts, veterans service organizations, and manufacturers.
• Requires VA to notify veterans and report utilization, outcomes, guidance, and access barriers to Congress every two years.