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Planning for Aging Veterans Act of 2021
12/30/2022, 3:18 AM
Summary of Bill HR 6332
The bill includes provisions for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop a comprehensive plan for providing long-term care services to aging veterans. This plan would include strategies for improving access to care, coordinating services, and ensuring that veterans receive the highest quality of care possible.
Additionally, the bill calls for the VA to conduct a study on the needs of aging veterans, including an assessment of the availability of long-term care services and the challenges veterans face in accessing these services. The results of this study would be used to inform the development of the VA's long-term care plan. Overall, the Planning for Aging Veterans Act of 2021 aims to improve the quality of life for aging veterans by ensuring that they have access to the care and support they need as they age. This bill is an important step towards honoring the service and sacrifice of our nation's veterans and ensuring that they receive the care and respect they deserve.
Congressional Summary of HR 6332
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 furnish prescribed drugs and medicines to veterans who are catastrophically disabled and for whom the VA is paying a per diem for nursing home or domiciliary care in 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 and any planned corrective actions 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.
