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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9427 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans' Mental Health Access 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE GRANTS 
              TO MEDICAL FACILITIES FOR THE PROVISION OF CULTURALLY 
              COMPETENT, EVIDENCE-BASED MENTAL HEALTH CARE FOR 
              VETERANS.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry 
out a three-year pilot program under which the Secretary shall make 
grants to eligible mental health care providers for the provision of 
culturally competent, evidence-based mental health care for veterans.
    (b) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under the pilot 
program, a mental health care provider shall--
            (1) be a non-profit organization;
            (2) have operated at least one outpatient mental health 
        facility in the United States for a continuous period of at 
        least three years; and
            (3) submit to the Secretary an application that includes 
        such information and assurances as the Secretary may require, 
        including--
                    (A) an identification of the outpatient facility or 
                facilities where the provider will provide mental 
                health care to veterans using the grant funds;
                    (B) a plan under which at least one clinician 
                employed by the provider at each facility for which a 
                grant is made is trained to provide culturally 
                competent veterans mental health care pursuant to the 
                requirements established by the Secretary under 
                subsection (f); and
                    (C) an identification of the percentage of the 
                operating budget for each such facility that was 
                provided through Federal grants during the fiscal year 
                preceding the year during which the application is 
                submitted.
    (c) Use of Funds.--
            (1) In general.--The recipient of a grant under the pilot 
        program shall use the grant--
                    (A) to provide culturally competent, evidence-based 
                mental health care for veterans;
                    (B) to operate an existing outpatient mental health 
                facility or establish a new outpatient mental health 
                facility for the purpose of providing such care; and
                    (C) to encourage veterans who are eligible for 
                enrollment in the patient enrollment system under 
                section 1705 of title 38, United States Code, to enroll 
                in such system and to receive medical services 
                furnished by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
            (2) Limitations.--The recipient of a grant under the pilot 
        program may not--
                    (A) charge any veteran a fee associated with the 
                receipt of mental health care; or
                    (B) refuse to provide mental health care to any 
                veteran on the basis that the veteran is not eligible 
                for reimbursement for such care under a health plan 
                contract or any Federal, State, or local government 
                program.
            (3) Reimbursement.--Nothing in this subsection shall 
        prevent the recipient of a grant under the pilot program from 
        seeking or receiving reimbursement for all, or a portion, of 
        the mental health care provided to a veteran, including 
        reimbursement under a health plan contract, the Community Care 
        Program of the Department under section 1703 of title 38, 
        United States Care, or any other Federal, State, or local 
        government program.
    (d) Selection of Facilities.--In selecting outpatient mental health 
facilities for the receipt of grants under the pilot program, the 
Secretary--
            (1) shall ensure that grants are distributed evenly among 
        outpatient mental health facilities located in rural and urban 
        areas;
            (2) may consider the proportion of veterans historically 
        served by the outpatient mental health facilities; and
            (3) may prioritize outpatient mental health facilities 
        located in areas that the Secretary determines--
                    (A) are medically underserved;
                    (B) have large veteran populations;
                    (C) are located near military installations; or
                    (D) have large numbers of veterans at high risk of 
                suicide.
    (e) Amount of Grant.--
            (1) In general.--
                    (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph 
                (B), no grant under the pilot program for a facility 
                for any fiscal year may exceed $1,500,000.
                    (B) Limitation.--In the case of an outpatient 
                mental health facility for which at least 50 percent of 
                the operating budget of the facility for the preceding 
                fiscal year was provided through Federal grants, no 
                grant under the pilot program for the facility for any 
                fiscal year may exceed the lesser of--
                            (i) 50 percent of the operating budget of 
                        the facility; or
                            (ii) $1,500,000.
            (2) Multiple grants.--The recipient of a grant under the 
        pilot program--
                    (A) may apply for, and receive, grants for more 
                than one facility of the recipient for any fiscal year; 
                and
                    (B) may apply for, and receive, a grant for a 
                facility that has already received a grant under the 
                pilot program.
    (f) Training Requirement.--The Secretary shall establish the 
requirements for the training referred to in subsection (b)(2)(A).
    (g) Regulations.--The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to 
carry out this section, which shall include a requirement that each 
recipient of a grant under the pilot program shall--
            (1) demonstrate the capacity to provide accountability;
            (2) demonstrate clinical outcomes; and
            (3) justify the effective use of any private investment 
        funds or Federal grant funds through data collection and 
        reporting metrics.
    (h) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the completion of the 
pilot program under this section, the Secretary shall submit to 
Congress a report on the pilot program that includes the following:
            (1) The number of veterans who received mental health care 
        under the program.
            (2) The demographics of the veterans served.
            (3) An identification of the types of mental health care 
        provided and the time period for which such care was provided.
            (4) An identification of program outcomes.
            (5) The number of veterans who received mental health care 
        under the program and subsequently enrolled in the patient 
        enrollment system under section 1705 of title 38, United States 
        Code.
            (6) An identification of any obstacles faced by grant 
        recipients in providing mental health care under the program.
    (i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out the pilot program under this 
section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2027.
                                 <all>
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