The Health Records Enhancement Act requires the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a process allowing designated individuals or immediate family members to add health information to the records of deceased veterans within one year of the bill's enactment. The bill affects deceased veterans enrolled in VA health services or covered under the TRICARE military health program, as well as their families who may want to supplement medical records with observed health conditions or other relevant health information. Importantly, any additions to these records must only supplement existing information and cannot modify or alter information already contained in the veteran's file. The legislation requires the two departments to jointly create a designation process allowing veterans to name someone in advance to handle this task, and if no one is designated, immediate family members—including spouses, parents, siblings, adult children, or those standing in loco parentis—may add information. The bill does not specify dedicated funding but mandates that the departments take necessary actions to implement these procedures.
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