WASHINGTON – The Senate today passed Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Raphael Warnock’s (D-Ga.) legislation, the Patient Advocate Tracker Act, to increase transparency and accountability at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for veterans who report concerns they experience with VA health care services.

Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) introduced the bill in the House of Representatives.

“The Patient Advocate Tracker Act will help America’s veterans overcome bureaucracy to get the efficient, effective health care they deserve. I am thankful for Rep. McClain’s leadership in the House and look forward to seeing the president sign this into law,” said Kennedy.

The VA uses the patient advocate tracking system (PATS) to track and report complaints from veterans. The Patient Advocate Tracker Act would allow veterans to access PATS in order to file complaints and view the status of those health care concerns, including interim and final actions that the VA has taken to resolve issues facing individual veterans. 

By granting veterans access to PATS, VA employees could more effectively route veterans’ concerns to the appropriate department within the VA, avoiding unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles.  

Text of the Patient Advocate Tracker Act is available here.