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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wounded Warriors 
Joint Health Care Patient Navigators Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE- 
WIDE PATIENT NAVIGATOR PROGRAM FOR 
WOUNDED 
MEMBERS 
OF 
THE 
ARMED 
FORCES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Defense 
shall establish a Department of Defense-wide patient navi-
gator program and assign the responsibility for overseeing 
the program to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for 
Health Affairs. 
(b) FUNCTION.—Under the program, patient naviga-
tors shall be assigned as representatives to medical hold-
over patients and their families in order to improve health 
care outcomes. 
(c) QUALIFICATIONS OF PATIENT NAVIGATORS.—To 
qualify as a patient navigator, a person shall successfully 
undergo extensive and regular training on all medical and 
administrative processes within the medical holdover sys-
tem of the Department of Defense and specifically within 
the military installation to which the navigator is assigned. 
A person acting as a patient navigator may not be a mem-
ber of the Armed Forces or an employee of the Depart-
ment of Defense. The Secretary of Defense shall enter into 
contracts to acquire the services of patient navigators. 
(d) NUMBER OF PATIENT NAVIGATORS.—Under the 
program, there shall be a standard number of patient 
navigators at any military medical treatment facility or 
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other medical retention facility, with the ratio of naviga-
tors to patients no higher than 1 to 10. 
(e) AUTHORITIES OF PATIENT NAVIGATORS.—Under 
the program, the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that 
patient navigators— 
(1) are allowed scheduled daily access to senior 
decision-making personnel and offices within the fa-
cility or military installation to which assigned; 
(2) are informed of all corrective actions taken 
on behalf of the patients they represent in a timely, 
standardized manner; and 
(3) are allowed access to patient medical sched-
uling information and allowed to assist in scheduling 
appointments in a timely fashion. 
(f) RESPONSIBILITIES OF PATIENT NAVIGATORS.— 
Under the program, each patient navigator shall— 
(1) report in writing daily to the commander or 
director of the facility or military installation to 
which the navigator is assigned all patient and fam-
ily concerns, issues, and complaints; and 
(2) keep confidential all files, and have con-
tracts with each patient acknowledging privacy and 
other patient concerns about the role of the navi-
gator. 
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