Planning for Aging Veterans Act of 2021
Bill: S.1965 | Sponsor: Sen. Murray, Patty (D-WA)
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Planning for Aging Veterans Act of 2021
This bill addresses the long-term care of veterans, including by implementing policies for the administration of state homes.
First, the bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop a strategy for the long-term care of veterans.
The VA must develop a standardized process for entering into sharing agreements between state homes and VA medical centers. A state home is a home established by a state for veterans who are disabled by age, disease, or otherwise and incapable of earning a living because of such disability. The term also includes a home that furnishes nursing home care for veterans.
Under the bill, the VA must ensure that veterans who are catastrophically disabled are not required to pay a co-payment for medication received at a state home. Generally, veterans are catastrophically disabled if they have a permanent severely disabling injury, disorder, or disease that compromises the ability to carry out the activities of daily living.
The VA must monitor any contractor it uses to conduct inspections of state homes, including by reviewing inspections, reporting deficiencies, and publishing inspection results on a public VA website.
The VA must implement a two-year pilot program to provide geriatric psychiatry assistance to eligible veterans at state homes.
Finally, the VA must work with public housing authorities and local organizations to assist aging homeless veterans in accessing existing housing and supportive services, even if a veteran is not eligible for such services from the VA.

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve long-term care 
  provided to veterans by the Department of Veterans Affairs, 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 ``Planning for Aging Veterans Act of 
2021''.

SEC. 2. STRATEGY FOR LONG-TERM CARE FOR AGING VETERANS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall develop a 
strategy for the long-term care of veterans.
    (b) Elements.--The strategy developed under subsection (a) shall--
            (1) identify current and future needs for the long-term 
        care of veterans based on demographic data and availability of 
        services both from Department of Veterans Affairs and from non-
        Department providers in the community, include other Federal 
        Government, non-Federal Government, nonprofit, for profit, and 
        other entities;
            (2) identify the current and future needs of veterans for 
        both institutional and non-institutional long-term care (for 
        example, home-based and community-based services), taking into 
        account the needs of growing veteran population groups, 
        including women veterans, veterans with traumatic brain injury, 
        veterans with memory loss, and other population groups with 
        unique needs; and
            (3) address new and different care delivery models, 
        including by--
                    (A) assessing the implications of such models for 
                the design of facilities and how those facilities may 
                need to change; and
                    (B) examining the workforce needed to support aging 
                populations of veterans as they grow and receive long-
                term care through different trends of care delivery.
    (c) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 
on the strategy developed under subsection (a).

SEC. 3. IMPROVEMENT OF STATE VETERANS HOMES.

    (a) Standardized Sharing Agreements.--The Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall develop a standardized process throughout the Department 
of Veterans Affairs for entering into sharing agreements between State 
homes and medical centers of the Department.
    (b) Clarification on Copayments for Certain Disabled Veterans.--The 
Secretary shall ensure that all veterans who are catastrophically 
disabled, as defined by the Secretary under section 1730A of title 38, 
United States Code, are not required to pay a copayment for medication 
received at a State home.
    (c) Oversight of Inspections.--
            (1) Monitoring.--The Secretary shall monitor any contractor 
        used by the Department to conduct inspections of State homes, 
        including by reviewing the inspections conducted by each such 
        contractor for quality not less frequently than quarterly.
            (2) Reporting of deficiencies.--The Secretary shall require 
        that any deficiencies of a State home noted during the 
        inspection of the State home be reported to the Secretary.
            (3) Transparency.--The Secretary shall publish the results 
        of any inspection of a State home on a publicly available 
        internet website of the Department.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section, the term ``State home'' has the 
meaning given that term in section 101(19) of title 38, United States 
Code.

SEC. 4. GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY PILOT PROGRAM AT STATE VETERANS HOMES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall commence 
the conduct of a pilot program under which the Secretary shall provide 
geriatric psychiatry assistance to eligible veterans at State homes.
    (b) Duration.--The Secretary shall carry out the pilot program 
under this section for a two-year period.
    (c) Type of Assistance.--Assistance provided under the pilot 
program under this section may include--
            (1) direct provision of geriatric psychiatry services, 
        including health care if feasible;
            (2) payments to non-Department of Veterans Affairs 
        providers in the community to provide such services;
            (3) collaboration with other Federal agencies to provide 
        such services; or
            (4) such other forms of assistance as the Secretary 
        considers appropriate.
    (d) Consideration of Local Area Needs.--In providing assistance 
under the pilot program under this section, the Secretary shall 
consider the geriatric psychiatry needs of the local area, including by 
considering--
            (1) State homes with a high proportion of residents with 
        unmet mental health needs;
            (2) State homes located in mental health care health 
        professional shortage areas designated under section 332 of the 
        Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254e); or
            (3) State homes located in rural or highly rural areas.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Active military, naval, or air service.--The term 
        ``active military, naval, or air service'' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 101(24) of title 38, United States 
        Code.
            (2) Eligible veteran.--The term ``eligible veteran'' means 
        a veteran who the Secretary determines would benefit from 
        access to geriatric psychiatry services, including veterans who 
        sustained a traumatic brain injury or posttraumatic stress 
        disorder in line of duty in the active military, naval, or air 
        service.
            (3) State home.--The term ``State home'' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 101(19) of title 38, United States 
        Code.

SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR AGING VETERANS AT RISK OF OR EXPERIENCING 
              HOMELESSNESS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall work with 
public housing authorities and local organizations to assist aging 
homeless veterans in accessing existing housing and supportive 
services, including health services like home-based and community-based 
services from the Department of Veterans Affairs or from non-Department 
providers in the community, even if the veteran is not eligible for 
such services from the Department.
    (b) Payment for Services.--The Secretary may, and is encouraged to, 
pay for services for aging homeless veterans described in subsection 
(a).
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