I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9427 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program 

to provide grants to outpatient mental health facilities for the provision 

of culturally competent, evidence-based mental health care for veterans, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 30, 2024 

Mr. BOST introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out 

a pilot program to provide grants to outpatient mental 

health facilities for the provision of culturally competent, 

evidence-based mental health care for veterans, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans’ Mental 

5 Health Access Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PRO2 GRAM TO PROVIDE GRANTS TO MEDICAL FA3 CILITIES FOR THE PROVISION OF CUL4 TURALLY COMPETENT, EVIDENCE-BASED 

5 MENTAL HEALTH CARE FOR VETERANS. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans 

7 Affairs shall carry out a three-year pilot program under 

8 which the Secretary shall make grants to eligible mental 

9 health care providers for the provision of culturally com10 petent, evidence-based mental health care for veterans. 

11 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

12 under the pilot program, a mental health care provider 

13 shall— 

14 (1) be a non-profit organization; 

15 (2) have operated at least one outpatient men16 tal health facility in the United States for a contin17 uous period of at least three years; and 

18 (3) submit to the Secretary an application that 

19 includes such information and assurances as the 

20 Secretary may require, including— 

21 (A) an identification of the outpatient fa22 cility or facilities where the provider will provide 

23 mental health care to veterans using the grant 

24 funds; 

25 (B) a plan under which at least one clini26 cian employed by the provider at each facility 


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1 for which a grant is made is trained to provide 

2 culturally competent veterans mental health 

3 care pursuant to the requirements established 

4 by the Secretary under subsection (f); and 

5 (C) an identification of the percentage of 

6 the operating budget for each such facility that 

7 was provided through Federal grants during the 

8 fiscal year preceding the year during which the 

9 application is submitted. 

10 (c) USE OF FUNDS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The recipient of a grant 

12 under the pilot program shall use the grant— 

13 (A) to provide culturally competent, evi14 dence-based mental health care for veterans; 

15 (B) to operate an existing outpatient men16 tal health facility or establish a new outpatient 

17 mental health facility for the purpose of pro18 viding such care; and 

19 (C) to encourage veterans who are eligible 

20 for enrollment in the patient enrollment system 

21 under section 1705 of title 38, United States 

22 Code, to enroll in such system and to receive 

23 medical services furnished by the Department 

24 of Veterans Affairs. 


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1 (2) LIMITATIONS.—The recipient of a grant 

2 under the pilot program may not— 

3 (A) charge any veteran a fee associated 

4 with the receipt of mental health care; or 

5 (B) refuse to provide mental health care to 

6 any veteran on the basis that the veteran is not 

7 eligible for reimbursement for such care under 

8 a health plan contract or any Federal, State, or 

9 local government program. 

10 (3) REIMBURSEMENT.—Nothing in this sub11 section shall prevent the recipient of a grant under 

12 the pilot program from seeking or receiving reim13 bursement for all, or a portion, of the mental health 

14 care provided to a veteran, including reimbursement 

15 under a health plan contract, the Community Care 

16 Program of the Department under section 1703 of 

17 title 38, United States Care, or any other Federal, 

18 State, or local government program. 

19 (d) SELECTION OF FACILITIES.—In selecting out20 patient mental health facilities for the receipt of grants 

21 under the pilot program, the Secretary— 

22 (1) shall ensure that grants are distributed 

23 evenly among outpatient mental health facilities lo24 cated in rural and urban areas; 


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1 (2) may consider the proportion of veterans his2 torically served by the outpatient mental health fa3 cilities; and 

4 (3) may prioritize outpatient mental health fa5 cilities located in areas that the Secretary deter6 mines— 

7 (A) are medically underserved; 

8 (B) have large veteran populations; 

9 (C) are located near military installations; 

10 or 

11 (D) have large numbers of veterans at high 

12 risk of suicide. 

13 (e) AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

16 subparagraph (B), no grant under the pilot pro17 gram for a facility for any fiscal year may ex18 ceed $1,500,000. 

19 (B) LIMITATION.—In the case of an out20 patient mental health facility for which at least 

21 50 percent of the operating budget of the facil22 ity for the preceding fiscal year was provided 

23 through Federal grants, no grant under the 

24 pilot program for the facility for any fiscal year 

25 may exceed the lesser of— 


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1 (i) 50 percent of the operating budget 

2 of the facility; or 

3 (ii) $1,500,000. 

4 (2) MULTIPLE GRANTS.—The recipient of a 

5 grant under the pilot program— 

6 (A) may apply for, and receive, grants for 

7 more than one facility of the recipient for any 

8 fiscal year; and 

9 (B) may apply for, and receive, a grant for 

10 a facility that has already received a grant 

11 under the pilot program. 

12 (f) TRAINING REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall 

13 establish the requirements for the training referred to in 

14 subsection (b)(2)(A). 

15 (g) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

16 regulations to carry out this section, which shall include 

17 a requirement that each recipient of a grant under the 

18 pilot program shall— 

19 (1) demonstrate the capacity to provide ac20 countability; 

21 (2) demonstrate clinical outcomes; and 

22 (3) justify the effective use of any private in23 vestment funds or Federal grant funds through data 

24 collection and reporting metrics. 


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1 (h) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the com2 pletion of the pilot program under this section, the Sec3 retary shall submit to Congress a report on the pilot pro4 gram that includes the following: 

5 (1) The number of veterans who received men6 tal health care under the program. 

7 (2) The demographics of the veterans served. 

8 (3) An identification of the types of mental 

9 health care provided and the time period for which 

10 such care was provided. 

11 (4) An identification of program outcomes. 

12 (5) The number of veterans who received men13 tal health care under the program and subsequently 

14 enrolled in the patient enrollment system under sec15 tion 1705 of title 38, United States Code. 

16 (6) An identification of any obstacles faced by 

17 grant recipients in providing mental health care 

18 under the program. 

19 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

20 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

21 out the pilot program under this section $20,000,000 for 

22 each of fiscal years 2025 through 2027. 

Æ 


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