,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #agib  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #a1      
#bjbc,mr4 ,tester 7for himself1 ,mr4    
,braun1 ,mr4 ,cornyn1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1    
,ms4 ,rosen1 ,mr4 ,peters1 and ,mr4     
,hoeven7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs  ,a  
,,bill  ,to amend title #ch1 ,united    
,states ,code1 to modify the program of 
comprehensive assistance for family     
caregivers of veterans1 and for other   
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,veteran ,caregiver 
,application and ,appeals ,reform ,act  
of #bjbc or the ,,care ,act of #bjbc4   
#b4 ,modification of program of         
comprehensive assistance for family     
caregivers of veterans  7a7 ,in general 
,subsection 7a7 of section #agbj;,g of  
title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is    
amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#e71 in the
 matter preceding subparagraph 7,a71 by 
inserting and relevant medical          

specialists after primary care team2    
7#b7 in paragraph 7#ab7-- 7,a7 in       
subparagraph 7,a71 by inserting 1 which 
shall include all criteria used to      
determine eligibility for such          
assistance and1 in the case of a        
completed evaluation1 how those criteria
 were used to evaluate information      
provided in assessments to determine    
such eligibility before the period at   
the end2 and  7,b7 in subparagraph      
7,c77i71 by inserting or who is being   
reassessed for eligibility to continue  
in such program after paragraph 7#a72   
and  7#c7 by adding at the end the      
following new paragraph3  7#ad7 7,a7    
,not less frequently than annually1 the 
,secretary shall submit to the          
,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the
 ,senate and the ,committee on          
,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of    
,representatives a comprehensive report 
on the program required by paragraph    
7#a7 that includes the following3 7i7   
,the number of applications received for

 such program during the one-year period
 preceding the report4  7ii7 ,the number
 of approvals of such applications      
during such period1 disaggregated by    
race1 gender1 era of service1 and branch
 of service4  7iii7 ,the number of      
denials of such applications during such
 period1 disaggregated by race1 gender1 
era of service1 and branch of service4  
7iv7 ,the number of reassessments       
conducted for such program during such  
period4  7v7 ,an identification of each 
decision made with respect to a         
reassessment conducted for such program 
during such period1 disaggregated by    
decisions resulting in-- 7,i7           
disenrollment1 including removal1       
discharge1 or voluntary withdrawal2     
7,,ii7 tier reduction2 and  7,,iii7     
continuation at current tier4  7vi7 ,the
 number of appeals of decisions made    
with respect to such program during such
 period1 disaggregated by type of       
appeal4  7vii7 ,with respect to each    
appeal identified under clause 7vi71 the

 decision rendered1 if any4  7viii7 ,a  
description of all tools used in        
assessments conducted for such program1 
including an explanation of how and by  
whom those tools are administered4  7ix7
 ,a description of procedures used under
 such program for reviewing and         
integrating clinical records from health
 care providers and an explanation of   
how those records are used in           
eligibility determinations for such     
program4  7x7 ,a description of         
procedures available under such program 
for health care providers1 including    
providers in the private sector and     
providers under the ,veterans ,community
 ,care ,program under section #agjc of  
this title1 to communicate medical      
opinions to the assessment teams        
determining eligibility for such        
program4  7xi7 ,a description of        
information technology systems and      
processes used under such program to    
upload and integrate all clinical       
records from all non-,department        

providers1 including providers in the   
private sector and providers under the  
,veterans ,community ,care ,program4    
7,b7 ,each report required by           
subparagraph 7,a7 shall-- 7i7 ensure    
that all data included in the report--  
7,i7 relating to a decision made under  
the program required by paragraph 7#a71 
are disaggregated by the specific reason
 for the decision2 and  7,,ii7 with     
respect to a veteran1 include           
comprehensive demographic information of
 the veteran1 including the time period 
of the injuries1 if any1 of the veteran 
and the ,veterans ,integrated ,service  
,network in which the veteran is        
located2 and  7ii7 with respect to      
eligibility determinations made during  
the period covered by the report        
relating to a serious injury of a       
veteran1 specify-- 7,i7 how many such   
determinations relate to the ability of 
the veteran to perform activities of    
daily living2 and  7,,ii7 how many such 
determinations relate to the need of a  

veteran for supervision and protection4 
4  7b7 ,rule of construction ,subsection
 7c7 of such section is amended-- 7#a7  
by striking 7#a7 ,a decision and all    
that follows through 7#b7 ,nothing in   
this section and inserting ,nothing in  
this section2 and  7#b7 by redesignating
 subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b7 as         
paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b71 respectively4 
#c4 ,recognition of organizations and   
individuals to assist veterans1 family  
members1 and caregivers navigating      
programs and services of ,veterans      
,health ,administration  7a7 ,in general
 ,not later than one year after the date
 of the enactment of this ,act1 the     
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall  
establish a process through which the   
,department of ,veterans ,affairs may   
recognize organizations and individuals 
to assist a veteran1 a family member of 
a veteran1 or a caregiver of a veteran  
7as defined in section #agbj;,g7d7 of   
title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code7 in    
navigating the programs and services of 

the ,veterans ,health ,administration4  
7b7 ,solicitation of feedback ,the      
,secretary shall solicit feedback and   
recommendations in the creation of the  
process under subsection 7a7 from such  
organizations as the ,secretary may     
consider relevant4  7c7 ,limitation ,the
 ,secretary may not recognize an        
organization or individual pursuant to  
the process established under subsection
 7a7 unless the organization or         
individual has certified to the         
,secretary that no fee or compensation  
of any nature will be charged to any    
individual for services rendered in     
providing assistance pursuant to such   
subsection4