U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), along with a bipartisan group of senators, has introduced the Veterans Mental Health and Addiction Therapy Quality of Care Act. This proposed legislation aims to ensure veterans’ access to quality mental health care. Joining Cornyn in this initiative are fellow Republican U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Democrats U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Michael Bennet (D-CO).
A similar bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to a release, by U.S. Representatives Pat Fallon (TX-04) and Sanford Bishop (GA-02). If passed and enacted into law, the bill would mandate a non-governmental agency to conduct a study evaluating the quality of care veterans receive from providers within and outside the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
The release further states that while the VA operates the nation’s largest integrated health care system for U.S. military veterans, approximately 70% of VA-eligible veterans received treatment from external providers.
“Given the high rate of veteran suicide due to mental and addiction health conditions, a study is needed to better understand if current practices provide our veterans with the best mental and addiction quality of care,” said Cornyn’s office in the release.
Cornyn says that this legislation is supported by several organizations including the Disabled American Veterans Association, the American Psychological Association, and the Veteran Health Care Policy Initiative.
