I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1577 

To create a Department of Defense-wide program of patient navigators for 

wounded members of the Armed Forces. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 20, 2007 

Mr. SHAYS (for himself, Mr. BUCHANAN, and Mr. BILIRAKIS) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To create a Department of Defense-wide program of patient 

navigators for wounded members of the Armed Forces. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wounded Warriors 

5 Joint Health Care Patient Navigators Act’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE2 WIDE PATIENT NAVIGATOR PROGRAM FOR 

3 WOUNDED MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 

4 FORCES. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Defense 

6 shall establish a Department of Defense-wide patient navi7 gator program and assign the responsibility for overseeing 

8 the program to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for 

9 Health Affairs. 

10 (b) FUNCTION.—Under the program, patient naviga11 tors shall be assigned as representatives to medical hold12 over patients and their families in order to improve health 

13 care outcomes. 

14 (c) QUALIFICATIONS OF PATIENT NAVIGATORS.—To 

15 qualify as a patient navigator, a person shall successfully 

16 undergo extensive and regular training on all medical and 

17 administrative processes within the medical holdover sys18 tem of the Department of Defense and specifically within 

19 the military installation to which the navigator is assigned. 

20 A person acting as a patient navigator may not be a mem21 ber of the Armed Forces or an employee of the Depart22 ment of Defense. The Secretary of Defense shall enter into 

23 contracts to acquire the services of patient navigators. 

24 (d) NUMBER OF PATIENT NAVIGATORS.—Under the 

25 program, there shall be a standard number of patient 

26 navigators at any military medical treatment facility or 

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1 other medical retention facility, with the ratio of naviga2 tors to patients no higher than 1 to 10. 

3 (e) AUTHORITIES OF PATIENT NAVIGATORS.—Under 

4 the program, the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that 

5 patient navigators— 

6 (1) are allowed scheduled daily access to senior 

7 decision-making personnel and offices within the fa8 cility or military installation to which assigned; 

9 (2) are informed of all corrective actions taken 

10 on behalf of the patients they represent in a timely, 

11 standardized manner; and 

12 (3) are allowed access to patient medical sched13 uling information and allowed to assist in scheduling 

14 appointments in a timely fashion. 

15 (f) RESPONSIBILITIES OF PATIENT NAVIGATORS.— 

16 Under the program, each patient navigator shall— 

17 (1) report in writing daily to the commander or 

18 director of the facility or military installation to 

19 which the navigator is assigned all patient and fam20 ily concerns, issues, and complaints; and 

21 (2) keep confidential all files, and have con22 tracts with each patient acknowledging privacy and 

23 other patient concerns about the role of the navi24 gator. 

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1 (g) MEDICAL HOLDOVER PATIENT.—In this Act, the 

2 term ‘‘medical holdover patient’’ means a member of the 

3 Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard 

4 or other reserve component, who is undergoing medical 

5 treatment, recuperation, or therapy, or is otherwise in 

6 medical hold or holdover status, for an injury, illness, or 

7 disease incurred or aggravated while on active duty in the 

8 Armed Forces. 

9 (h) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be ap10 propriated to carry out this Act $3,000,000 for each of 

11 fiscal years 2007, 2008, and 2009. 

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