Strengthening VA Patient Advocacy for Rural Veterans Act of 2025

This bill aims to improve how the VA listens to and helps veterans, especially those in rural and very rural areas. It would require each VA medical center to name at least one patient advocate to coordinate help for rural veterans who get care at community clinics or through the VA’s community care network. This advocate would focus on problems, questions, and feedback for care outside the main VA hospital, using existing staff when possible.

It also adds more accountability. Patient advocates must have a reporting line that includes the medical center director. And the VA must send a yearly, de-identified report from its Patient Advocate Tracking System showing common issues, how long it takes to fix them, response times to information requests, and compliments and complaints, shared with VA leaders and Congress.

• Who is affected: Veterans in rural and highly rural areas using VA community clinics or community care; VA patient advocates and medical center directors.
• What changes: Dedicated rural patient advocate coordinators; clearer reporting lines to medical center directors; annual transparency reports with data on issues and resolution times.
• When: The text requires annual reporting; no specific start date is stated in the provided text.