This bill creates a three-year pilot run by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The pilot gives grants to nonprofit outpatient mental health providers so they can provide culturally competent, evidence-based mental health care to veterans. Eligible providers must have operated an outpatient mental health facility in the United States continuously for at least three years and submit an application with details the Secretary requires. Applications must identify the facility or facilities, include a plan to train at least one clinician at each facility to provide culturally competent veterans mental health care under Secretary-established requirements, and report the percentage of the facility operating budget that came from Federal grants in the prior year.
Grant funds may be used to provide culturally competent, evidence-based care, to operate existing outpatient facilities or establish new ones for veterans, and to encourage veterans to enroll in the Department’s patient enrollment system under 38 U.S.C. 1705. Recipients may not charge veterans fees for care provided with grant funds and may not refuse care because a veteran is not eligible for reimbursement under a health plan or a government program. Recipients may seek reimbursement from health plans or Federal, State, or local programs, including the VA Community Care program under 38 U.S.C. 1703.
When selecting facilities to receive grants, the Secretary must distribute grants evenly between rural and urban areas, may consider the share of veterans a facility has historically served, and may prioritize facilities in medically underserved areas, areas with large veteran populations, near military installations, or with many veterans at high risk of suicide. A grant for any facility generally may not exceed $1,500,000 per fiscal year. If a facility received at least 50 percent of its operating budget from Federal grants in the prior year, the grant for that facility cannot exceed the lesser of 50 percent of the facility’s operating budget or $1,500,000. Recipients may apply for grants for more than one facility and for facilities that have already received grants.
The Secretary will set the training requirements. The Secretary must also issue regulations that require each grant recipient to demonstrate capacity for accountability, demonstrate clinical outcomes, and justify use of private or Federal funds through data collection and reporting. The Secretary must report to Congress within 180 days after the pilot ends. The report must include the number of veterans served, demographics, types and time periods of care provided, program outcomes, number of veterans who later enrolled in the patient enrollment system under 38 U.S.C. 1705, and obstacles faced by grant recipients. The bill authorizes $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2027 to carry out the pilot.
The bill authorizes appropriations of $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027 to carry out the pilot program. Individual facility grants generally may not exceed $1,500,000 per fiscal year, with a lower cap for facilities that previously received at least 50% of their operating budget from Federal grants.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.