Reports

(a) Report on improvements to clinical appeals process Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than once every three years thereafter, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with veterans service organizations, veterans, caregivers of veterans, employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other stakeholders as determined by the Secretary, shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report containing recommendations for legislative or administrative action to improve the clinical appeals process of the Department with respect to timeliness, transparency, objectivity, consistency, and fairness. (b) Report on required care and services under community care program Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report that contains, for the one-year period preceding the date of the report, the following: (1) The number of veterans eligible for care or services under section 1703 of title 38, United States Code, and the reasons for such eligibility, including multiple such reasons for veterans eligible under more than one eligibility criteria. (2) The number of veterans who opt to seek care or services under such section. (3) The number of veterans who do not opt to seek care or services under such section. (4) An assessment of the timeliness of referrals for care or services under such section. (5) The number of times a veteran did not show for an appointment for care or services under such section. (6) The number of requests for an appeal of a denial of care or services under such section using the clinical appeals process of the Veterans Health Administration. (7) The timeliness of each such appeal. (8) The outcome of each such appeal. (c) Veterans service organization defined In this section, the term veterans service organization means any organization recognized by the Secretary under section 5902 of title 38, United States Code.