Access to Veterans Benefits Improvement Act

“5906. Provision of access to case-tracking information

“(a) In general

“(1) In accordance with subsection (b), the Secretary shall provide a covered employee with access to the case-tracking system to provide a veteran with information regarding the status of a claim submitted by such veteran, regardless of whether such employee is acting under a power of attorney executed by such veteran.

“(2) In providing a covered employee with access to the case-tracking system under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure—

“(A) that such access—

“(i) is provided in a manner that does not allow such employee to modify the data contained in such system; and

“(ii) does not include access to medical records; and

“(B) that each time a covered employee accesses such system, the employee must certify that such access is for official purposes only.

“(b) Privacy certification course—The Secretary may not provide a covered employee with access to the case-tracking system under subsection (a)(1) unless the covered employee has successfully completed a certification course on privacy issues provided by the Secretary.

“(c) Treatment of disclosure—The access to information by a covered employee pursuant to subsection (a)(1) shall be deemed to be—

“(1) a covered disclosure under section 552a(b) of title 5; and

“(2) a permitted disclosure under regulations promulgated under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320d–2 note).

“(d) Definitions—In this section:

“(1) The term case-tracking system means the system of the Department of Veterans Affairs that provides information regarding the status of a claim submitted by a veteran.

“(2) The term covered employee means—

“(A) an employee of a Member of Congress who assists the constituents of the Member with issues regarding departments or agencies of the Federal Government; or

“(B) an employee of a State or local governmental agency (including a veterans service officer) who, in the course of carrying out the responsibilities of such employment, assists veterans with claims for any benefit under the laws administered by the Secretary.”