SenateS. 5464119th Congress
VOICE for Women Veterans Act
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5464 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5464
To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the report on the
health of women veterans, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 23, 2026
Mr. Boozman (for himself and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the report on the
health of women veterans, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans' Outcomes, Inclusion, Care,
and Experience for Women Veterans Act'' or the ``VOICE for Women
Veterans Act''.
SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF REPORT ON HEALTH OF WOMEN VETERANS.
Section 7310A of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``Chief Officer of Women's Health''
and inserting ``Secretary''; and
(B) by striking ``through (g)'' and inserting
``through (l)'';
(2) by striking subsection (c);
(3) by redesignating subsections (d) through (g) as
subsections (e), (g), (h), and (m), respectively;
(4) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
``(c) Utilization of Services.--Each report under subsection (a)
shall include the following:
``(1) The number of women veterans who reside in each
State, territory, or possession of the United States.
``(2) The number of women veterans enrolled in the system
of annual patient enrollment of the Department established and
operated under section 1705(a) of this title, disaggregated
by--
``(A) State, territory, or possession of the United
States; and
``(B) medical facility of the Department at which
the veteran is registered.
``(3) The number of women veterans newly enrolled in such
system since the submittal of the previous report under
subsection (a), disaggregated by State, territory, or
possession of the United States.
``(4) Of the women veterans enrolled in such system, the
number who received health care under the laws administered by
the Secretary at least once during the one-year period
preceding the submittal of the report.
``(5) The number of unique women veterans who received
health care at each medical facility of the Department during
such one-year period, disaggregated by facility.
``(6) The number of appointments completed by women
veterans at medical facilities of the Department during such
one-year period, disaggregated by--
``(A) medical facility;
``(B) type of care, including--
``(i) primary care;
``(ii) specialty care; and
``(iii) mental health care; and
``(C) modality of care, including--
``(i) in-person care; and
``(ii) care furnished through the use of
telehealth.
``(7) A summary of the geographic distribution of health
care furnished by the Department to women veterans, including
any significant geographic trends in enrollment or utilization.
``(8) An assessment of utilization of health care furnished
by the Department to women veterans, disaggregated, to the
extent practicable, by--
``(A) age;
``(B) era of service; and
``(C) military occupational specialty or other
comparable career specialty in the Armed Forces.
``(9) A summary of--
``(A) enrollment of women veterans in, and
utilization by women veterans of, Centers of Excellence
of the Department; and
``(B) participation by women veterans in clinical,
disease, and exposure-based condition registries of the
Department.
``(10) An identification of--
``(A) the medical facility of the Department in
each Veterans Integrated Service Network with the
greatest rate of increase in the population of women
veteran patients, as measured by the change in unique
women veteran patient utilization since the previous
reporting period; and
``(B) the medical facility of the Department in
each Veterans Integrated Service Network with the
greatest rate of decrease in the population of women
veteran patients, as measured by the change in unique
women veteran patient utilization since the previous
reporting period.
``(11) A comparison of the information required under
paragraphs (1) through (10) with the corresponding information
from previous reporting periods, to the extent such information
is available.
``(d) Access to Gender-Specific Services.--(1) Each report under
subsection (a) shall include an analysis of the access of women
veterans to and the use by women veterans of gender-specific services--
``(A) furnished by the Department at Department facilities;
and
``(B) furnished by the Department under contracts,
agreements, or other arrangements with non-Department medical
providers entered into by the Secretary for the provision of
hospital care or medical services to veterans.
``(2) The analysis under paragraph (1) shall include data and
performance measures for the availability of gender-specific services,
disaggregated by services described in subparagraphs (A) and (B),
including--
``(A) the average wait time between the preferred
appointment date of the veteran and the date on which the
appointment is completed;
``(B) the average driving time required for veterans to
attend appointments;
``(C) reasons why appointments could not be scheduled with
non-Department medical providers; and
``(D) the number of women veterans utilizing non-Department
care.'';
(5) by inserting after subsection (e), as redesignated by
paragraph (3), the following:
``(f) Other Care Items.--Each report under subsection (a) shall
include a description of the following:
``(1) The referral process, timeliness, and effectiveness
of referrals to primary or specialty care for the provision of
gender-specific services by providers of the Department.
``(2) The referral process, timeliness, and effectiveness
of referrals to primary or specialty care for the provision of
gender-specific services by non-Department providers.
``(3) The utilization and effectiveness of the self-
referral gynecology appointment process of the Department, or
any successor similar process.
``(4) Mechanisms of the Department to provide oversight of
care quality and timeliness regarding gender-specific services.
``(5) Utilization by women veterans of Centers of
Excellence of the Department, including registration and actual
appointments served.
``(6) Health care sought by women veterans relating to
exposure to toxic substances, including an identification of
the presumptive location, type of exposure, and type of disease
treated.'';
(6) in subsection (g), as so redesignated--
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by
striking ``paragraph (4)'' and inserting ``paragraph
(5)'';
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through (6) as
paragraphs (5) through (7);
(C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
``(4) The number of full- and part-time specialized
providers of the Department who provide gender-specific
services, disaggregated by gender-specific service.''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) Vacant positions for designated women's health care
providers, disaggregated by medical center of the Department,
including an assessment of barriers experienced by the
Department when hiring such providers and an assessment of
active efforts by the Department to address such vacancies.
``(9) Any positions relating to women's health that have
been realigned, removed, or are otherwise no longer dedicated
to providing gender-specific services since the submittal of
the previous report, including an identification of the
facilities at which those positions were located.
``(10) Provider training standards for the provision of
gender-specific services.
``(11) Training offered by the Department for community
care providers, including the number of community care
providers who provide gender-specific services who have
received certified training for cultural competency, suicide
prevention, lethal means safety training, military sexual
trauma training, and any other training the Department offers
or requires of providers of gender-specific services.'';
(7) by inserting after subsection (h), as so redesignated,
the following:
``(i) Oversight of the Deborah Sampson Act.--Each report under
subsection (a) shall include a description of the efforts of the
Department in implementing sections 5104, 5107, 5108, 5302, and 5305 of
the Deborah Sampson Act of 2020 (title V of Public Law 116-315; 134
Stat. 5021), including the amendments made by those sections.
``(j) Unique Diseases.--Each report under subsection (a) shall
include a description of--
``(1) emerging diseases and other medical conditions
affecting women veterans and the ability of the Department to
provide treatment for such diseases and other medical
conditions; and
``(2) existing diseases and other medical conditions unique
to women veterans, the rate at which the Department is
diagnosing and treating such diseases and other medical
conditions, and the number of claims for benefits relating to
such diseases and other medical conditions, including the
number of such claims subject to appeal and the outcomes of
such appeals.
``(k) Veterans Benefits Administration Data.--(1) Each report under
subsection (a) shall include, to the extent practicable--
``(A) data collected in connection with reports on claims
for benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary
submitted by women veterans for adjudication relating to
emerging diseases or other medical conditions, including--
``(i) the number of such claims;
``(ii) the ratio of favorable and unfavorable
adjudications;
``(iii) the number of such claims for which a
higher-level review is requested, a supplemental claim
is filed, or an appeal to the Board of Veterans'
Appeals is initiated; and
``(iv) the outcomes of those reviews and appeals;
and
``(B) information regarding the utilization by women
veterans of benefits administered by the Veterans Benefits
Administration, including--
``(i) the number of women veterans who are using or
have used educational assistance under the laws
administered by the Secretary;
``(ii) the number of women veterans who are
receiving or have received services or assistance under
chapter 31 of this title;
``(iii) with respect to compensation under chapter
11 of this title--
``(I) the number of women veterans
receiving disability compensation;
``(II) the number of women veterans with
pending claims for disability compensation;
``(III) the number of women veterans whose
claims for disability compensation were denied
during the reporting period;
``(IV) the average disability rating for
women veterans receiving compensation; and
``(V) such other information as the
Secretary determines appropriate regarding the
use by women veterans of benefits administered
by the Veterans Benefits Administration.
``(2) To the extent practicable, the information required under
this subsection shall be disaggregated by age, era of service, and
other demographic characteristics as the Secretary determines
appropriate.
``(l) Consolidation of Reports.--(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the
Secretary may consolidate into the report under subsection (a) other
reports required by law if--
``(A) such consolidation will not delay the delivery by the
Department of the report under subsection (a) or any other
report by more than 30 days; and
``(B) all information required for the other report is
addressed in the report under subsection (a).
``(2) The Secretary may not take any action under paragraph (1) to
consolidate reports until the date that is 45 days after the Secretary
submits to the appropriate congressional committees a report that
describes the proposed consolidation and the reasons for such proposed
consolidation.''; and
(8) in subsection (m), as so redesignated, by amending
paragraph (2) to read as follows:
``(2) The term `gender-specific services' means
reproductive health services, specialized mental health
services, counseling and treatment for military sexual trauma,
gynecological care, maternity care, ovarian cancer care, breast
cancer care, cervical cancer care, endometrial cancer care,
thyroid cancer care, mammography, obstetric care, uterine
cancer care, fallopian tube cancer care, primary peritoneal
cancer care, vaginal cancer care, vulvar cancer care,
gestational trophoblastic neoplasia care, care relating to
other prevalent diseases and conditions affecting women
veterans, and such other services as the Secretary determines
appropriate.''.
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