Veteran Burial Timeliness and Death Certificate Accountability Act

This bill would require a VA-employed physician or nurse practitioner who is the primary care provider of a veteran who dies of natural causes to certify the death within 48 hours of learning of it. If that provider cannot do so, a coroner or medical examiner in the area where the death occurred may certify the death instead. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs would have to report each year to the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees on how often providers met the 48-hour requirement, how many times they could not, and the most common reasons why. The bill does not require any VA employee to act against the laws or rules of the jurisdiction where they are licensed or practicing, or where the death is certified.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• John Boozman Republican sponsor
• 7 cosponsors