Women Veterans Health Assessment Act of 1996

Summary: Women Veterans Health Assessment Act of 1996 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to report to the congressional veterans' committees on the provision of health care services to, and the conduct of research carried out by the Secretary for, women veterans. 
Directs the Secretary to study and report to such committees on the needs of women veterans for health care services.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Women Veterans Health Assessment Act 
of 1996''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Health care for veterans has traditionally been 
        considered in terms of male veterans.
            (2) Women constitute nearly 5 percent of the total veteran 
        population, a percentage that is growing.
            (3) There are currently 1,200,000 female veterans in the 
        United States, a number which is steadily increasing.

SEC. 3. REPORT ON WOMEN'S HEALTH CARE AND RESEARCH.

    (a) In General.--Not later than January 1, 1999, the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of 
the Senate and House of Representatives a report on the provision of 
health care services and the conduct of research carried out by, or 
under the jurisdiction of, the Secretary relating to women veterans. 
The report shall be prepared through the Center for Women Veterans 
established under section 318 of title 38, United States Code, which 
shall prepare the report in consultation with the Advisory Committee on 
Women Veterans established under section 542 of that title.
    (b) Contents.--The report under subsection (a) shall include the 
following information:
            (1) The number of women veterans who have received general 
        health care services and the number who have received gender-
        specific health care services in facilities under the 
        jurisdiction of the Secretary (or the Secretary of Defense), 
        shown by reference to the Department facility which provided 
        (or, in the case of Department of Defense facilities, arranged 
        for) those services.
            (2) A description of--
                    (A) the services provided at each such facility;
                    (B) the type and amount of services provided by 
                such personnel, including information on the numbers of 
                inpatient stays and the number of outpatient visits 
                through which such services were provided; and
                    (C) the extent to which each such facility relies 
                on contractual arrangements under section 1703 or 8153 
                of title 38, United States Code, to furnish care to 
                women veterans in facilities which are not under the 
                jurisdiction of the Secretary where the provision of 
                such care is not furnished in a medical emergency.
            (3) The steps taken by each such facility to expand the 
        provision of services at such facility (or under arrangements 
        with the Department of Defense facility) to women veterans.
            (4) A description of the personnel of the Department who 
        provided such services to women veterans, including the number 
        of employees (including both the number of individual employees 
        and the number of full-time employee equivalents) and the 
        professional qualifications or specialty training of such 
        employees and the Department facilities to which such personnel 
        were assigned.
            (5) A description of any actions taken by the Secretary to 
        ensure the retention of the personnel described in paragraph 
        (4) and any actions undertaken to recruit such additional 
        personnel or personnel to replace such personnel.
            (6) An assessment by the Secretary of any difficulties 
        experienced by the Secretary in the furnishing of such services 
        and the actions taken by the Secretary to resolve such 
        difficulties.
            (7) A description (as of October 1 of the year preceding 
        the year in which the report is submitted) of the status of any 
        research relating to women veterans being carried out by or 
        under the jurisdiction of the Secretary.
            (8) A description of the actions taken by the Secretary to 
        foster and encourage the expansion of such research.
            (9) A description of any psychological intimidation of 
        women veterans who seek health care from the Department, 
        together with the relative prevalence of diagnosis referred to 
        as the ``it's all in your head'' syndrome.
            (10) A description of the range in ages for women veterans 
        who seek care at Department medical facilities, together with a 
        determination as to whether younger women veterans (women in 
        their fifties) are more likely, or less likely, to seek care at 
        Department medical facilities than older women veterans (women 
        in their seventies).
            (11) A description of deficiencies relating to patient 
        privacy for women veterans in Department medical facilities.
            (12) A description of any difficulty experienced by the 
        Secretary in compiling any of the information required for the 
        submission of such report.

SEC. 4. POPULATION STUDY.

    (a) Study.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, subject to 
subsection (f), shall conduct a study to determine the needs of women 
veterans for health care services. The study shall be carried out 
through the Center for Women Veterans.
    (b) Consultation.--Before carrying out the study, the Secretary 
shall request the advice of the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans on 
the conduct of the study.
    (c) Persons To Be Included in Sample of Veterans Studied.--The 
study shall be based on--
            (1) an appropriate sample of veterans who are women; and
            (2) an examination of the medical and demographic histories 
        of the women comprising such sample.
    (d) Reports.--The Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives reports 
relating to the study as follows:
            (1) Not later than January 1, 1998, an interim report 
        describing (A) the information and advice obtained by the 
        Secretary from the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans, and 
        (B) the status of the study.
            (2) Not later than January 1, 2000, a final report 
        describing the results of the study.