Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) Act of 2016

Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) Act of 2016

This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), through the Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation, to carry out a five-year pilot program under which the VA shall provide a service dog and veterinary health insurance to a veteran who:

• is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder rated at a severity level of 3 or 4 on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5),
• has completed an evidence-based treatment and remains significantly symptomatic,
• served on active duty on or after September 11, 2001,
• has not experienced satisfactory improvement in symptoms after being treated with evidence-based therapies.

The VA shall enter into contracts with appropriate providers that are certified by Assistance Dogs International or a similar organization for the procurement of service dogs and training of such dogs and their recipients.

The provision of a service dog shall be done in addition to other types of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and shall not replace established treatment modalities.