Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, Chairwoman Brownley and the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health held a legislative hearing to discuss a package of bills, developed by the Women Veterans Task Force, to improve equity for the delivery of healthcare for women who have served in our nation’s Armed Forces.
“A key focus of the Women Veterans Task Force and the Health Subcommittee is ensuring equitable access to high quality healthcare for the growing population of women veterans,” said Congresswoman Brownley. “From guaranteeing that women veterans have access to prescription contraceptives without co-pays, to providing women veterans with life-transforming prosthetics that are made specifically for their needs, and offering gender-specific services are available at every VA medical center and community-based outpatient clinic, I am truly proud of the bipartisan work we are doing to provide our women veterans with the care and services they have earned and deserve.”
The Women Veterans Task Force bills include:
- H.R. 2798 (Brownley) — Building Supportive Networks for Women Veterans Act , which will make permanent the VA pilot program on counseling in retreat settings for women veterans coping with post-traumatic stress (PTS) and other wounds of war.
- H.R. 3636 (Underwood) — Caring For Our Women Veterans Act , which would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress reports on the use of healthcare by women veterans at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
- H.R. 2972 (Brindisi) — A bill which would improve the communications of the Department of Veterans Affairs relating to services available for women veterans.
- H.R. 3036 (Rose) — Breaking Barriers for Women Veterans Act, which aims to improve VA’s delivery of healthcare for women veterans including funding for primary care and emergency care clinicians, the establishment of women veteran training module for non-VA health providers, and a study on staffing women veteran program managers.
- H.R. 2645 (Lee) — Newborn Care Improvement Act, which would extend coverage of newborn healthcare for children of veterans.
H.R. 2681 (Pappas) — A bill which would ensure that VA is equipped to provide women veterans with life-changing prosthetics made specifically for their needs. - H.R. 3224 (Brownley) — Women Veterans Equal Access to Quality Care Act, which would ensure that gender-specific services are continuously available at every VA medical center and community-based outpatient clinic.
- H.R. 2982 (Cunningham) — A bill which directs the VA to conduct a study on the barriers to healthcare women veterans face at VA facilities.
- H.R. 2752 (Allred) — VA Newborn Emergency Treatment Act, which ensures that newborns get access to VA covered medical care; expands the seven days of VA provided newborn medical care for a medically necessary extension; streamlines the billing process to remove unnecessary burdens on veterans; and waives any outstanding debts associated with medically-necessary emergency transportation services for a newborn incurred by the veteran.
- H.R. 3798 (Brownley) — Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act, which would provide for limitation on copayment for contraception furnished by the Department of Veterans Affairs
- H.R. 3867 (Velazquez) — Violence Against Women Veterans Act, which would improve the VA delivery of services and benefits for veterans who experience domestic violence or sexual assault.
- H.R. 4096 (Correa) — Improving Oversight of Women Veterans’ Care Act, a bill which would require an annual report on veteran access to gender specific services under community care contracts.
- A draft bill which would establish the Office of Women’s Health at the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Brownley)
To view the full legislative hearing, click here.
Issues: 116th Congress, Veterans' Affairs, Women Veterans Task Force