I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1538 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to improve the management of 
medical care, personnel actions, and quality of life issues for members 
of the Armed Forces who are receiving medical care in an outpatient 
status, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 15, 2007 
Mr. SKELTON (for himself, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. SNYDER, Mr. MCHUGH, and 
Mr. FILNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Vet-
erans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to improve the 
management of medical care, personnel actions, and 
quality of life issues for members of the Armed Forces 
who are receiving medical care in an outpatient status, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007’’. 
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(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Improvements to medical and dental care for members of the Armed 
Forces assigned to hospitals in an outpatient status. 
Sec. 3. Establishment of toll-free hot line for reporting deficiencies in medical- 
related support facilities and expedited response to reports of 
deficiencies. 
Sec. 4. Notification to Congress of hospitalization of combat wounded service 
members. 
Sec. 5. Independent medical advocate for members before medical evaluation 
boards. 
Sec. 6. Training and workload for physical evaluation board liaison officers. 
Sec. 7. Standardized training program and curriculum for Department of De-
fense disability evaluation system. 
Sec. 8. Improved training for health care professionals, medical care case man-
agers, and service member advocates on particular conditions 
of recovering servicemembers. 
Sec. 9. Criteria for removal of member from temporary disability retired list. 
Sec. 10. Pilot program to improve transition of members of the Armed Forces 
to Department of Veterans Affairs upon retirement or separa-
tion. 
Sec. 11. Establishment of Medical Support Fund for support of members of the 
Armed Forces returning to military service or civilian life. 
Sec. 12. Annual report on military medical facilities. 
Sec. 13. Evaluation and report on Department of Defense and Department of 
Veterans Affairs disability evaluation systems. 
Sec. 14. Oversight Board for Wounded Warriors. 
Sec. 15. Definitions. 
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO MEDICAL AND DENTAL CARE 
FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AS-
SIGNED TO HOSPITALS IN AN OUTPATIENT 
STATUS. 
(a) MEDICAL AND DENTAL CARE OF MEMBERS AS-
SIGNED TO HOSPITALS IN AN OUTPATIENT STATUS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Chapter 55 of title 10, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
section 1074k the following new section: 
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‘‘§ 1074l. Management of medical and dental care: 
members assigned to receive care in an 
outpatient status 
‘‘(a) MEDICAL CARE CASE MANAGERS.—(1) A mem-
ber in an outpatient status at a military medical treatment 
facility shall be assigned a medical care case manager. 
‘‘(2) The duties of the medical care case manager 
shall include the following with respect to the member (or 
the member’s immediate family if the member is incapable 
of making judgments about personal medical care): 
‘‘(A) To assist in understanding the member’s 
medical status. 
‘‘(B) To assist in receiving prescribed medical 
care. 
‘‘(C) To conduct a review, at least once a week, 
of the member’s medical status. 
‘‘(3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
each medical care case manager shall be assigned to man-
age not more than 17 members in an outpatient status. 
‘‘(B) The Secretary concerned may waive for up to 
120 days the requirement of subparagraph (A) if required 
due to unforeseen circumstances. 
‘‘(4) The Secretary of Defense shall establish a stand-
ard training program and curriculum for medical care case 
managers. Successful completion of the training program 
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is required before a person may assume the duties of a 
medical care case manager. 
‘‘(b) SERVICE MEMBER ADVOCATE.—(1) A member 
in an outpatient status shall be assigned a service member 
advocate. 
‘‘(2) The duties of the service member advocate shall 
include— 
‘‘(A) communicating with the member and with 
the member’s family or other individuals designated 
by the member; 
‘‘(B) assisting with oversight of the member’s 
welfare and quality of life; and 
‘‘(C) assisting the member in resolving prob-
lems involving financial, administrative, personnel, 
transitional, and other matters. 
‘‘(3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
each service member advocate shall be assigned to not 
more than 30 members in an outpatient status. 
‘‘(B) The Secretary concerned may waive for up to 
120 days the requirement of subparagraph (A) if required 
due to unforeseen circumstances. 
‘‘(4) The Secretary of Defense shall establish a stand-
ard training program and curriculum for service member 
advocates. Successful completion of the training program 
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is required before a person may assume the duties of a 
service member advocate. 
‘‘(5) A service member advocate shall continue to per-
form the duties described in paragraph (2) with respect 
to a member until the member is returned to duty or sepa-
rated or retired from the armed forces. 
‘‘(c) SEMIANNUAL SURVEYS BY SECRETARIES CON-
CERNED.—The Secretary concerned shall conduct a semi-
annual survey of members in an outpatient status at in-
stallations under the Secretary’s supervision. The survey 
shall include, at a minimum, the members’ assessment of 
the quality of medical care at the facility, the timeliness 
of medical care at the facility, the adequacy of living facili-
ties and other quality of life programs, the adequacy of 
case management support, and the fairness and timeliness 
of the physical disability evaluation system. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘member in an outpatient status’ 
means a member of the armed forces assigned to a 
military medical treatment facility as an outpatient 
or to a unit established for the purpose of providing 
command and control of members receiving medical 
care as outpatients. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘disability evaluation system’ 
means the Department of Defense system or process 
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