Rep. Crist Aims to Improve Specialty Care for Women Veterans
This week Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., introduced the Improving Specialty Care for Women Veterans Act, which aims to recruit and train specialty health care providers at the Department of Veterans Affairs and in the community to understand the unique health needs of women veterans.
Although the VA provides gender-specific care for maternal health, military sexual trauma and reproductive health, many women veterans still do not have the option to receive gender-specific care in other specialties.
In addition to authorizing the VA to recruit and train specialty health care providers on women needs, the act provides the option to conduct a pilot program.
The program would be available to interns, residents, doctors and nurse practitioners, both in the VA and in community care programs.
In the future, women veterans would be able to see which doctors had participated in the program and be able to choose that provider if they wish.
As of Wednesday, the bill sits with the U.S. House Veteran Affairs’ Committee, but no separate bill has been introduced in the Senate.
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