II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3546 

To require a study on the quality of care difference between mental health 

and addiction therapy care provided by health care providers of the 

Department of Veterans Affairs compared to non-Department providers, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 14, 2023 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. BENNET, and Mr. TILLIS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To require a study on the quality of care difference between 

mental health and addiction therapy care provided by 

health care providers of the Department of Veterans 

Affairs compared to non-Department providers, 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 and Addiction Therapy Quality of Care Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. STUDY ON QUALITY OF CARE DIFFERENCE BE2 TWEEN MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION 

3 THERAPY CARE PROVIDED BY HEALTH CARE 

4 PROVIDERS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

5 AFFAIRS COMPARED TO NON-DEPARTMENT 

6 PROVIDERS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

8 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet9 erans Affairs shall seek to enter into an agreement with 

10 an independent and objective organization outside the De11 partment of Veterans Affairs under which that organiza12 tion shall— 

13 (1) conduct a study on the quality of care dif14 ference between mental health and addiction therapy 

15 care under the laws administered by the Secretary 

16 provided by health care providers of the Department 

17 compared to non-Department providers across var18 ious modalities, such as telehealth, in-patient, inten19 sive out-patient, out-patient, and residential treat20 ment; and 

21 (2) submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Af22 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ 

23 Affairs of the House of Representatives and publish 

24 on a publicly available website a report containing 

25 the final results of such study. 


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1 (b) TIMING.—The Secretary shall ensure that the or2 ganization with which the Secretary enters into an agree3 ment pursuant to subsection (a) is able to complete the 

4 requirements under such subsection by not later than 18 

5 months after the date on which the agreement is entered 

6 into. 

7 (c) ELEMENTS.—The report submitted pursuant to 

8 subsection (a)(2) shall include an assessment of the fol9 lowing: 

10 (1) The amount of improvement in health out11 comes from start of treatment to completion, includ12 ing symptom scores and suicide risk using evidence13 based scales, including the Columbia-Suicide Sever14 ity Rating Scale. 

15 (2) Whether providers of the Department and 

16 non-Department providers are using evidence-based 

17 practices in the treatment of mental health and ad18 diction therapy care, including criteria set forth by 

19 the American Society of Addiction Medicine. 

20 (3) Potential gaps in coordination between pro21 viders of the Department and non-Department pro22 viders in responding to individuals seeking mental 

23 health or addiction therapy care, including the shar24 ing of patient health records. 


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1 (4) Implementation of veteran-centric care, in2 cluding the level of satisfaction of patients with care 

3 and the competency of providers with the unique ex4 periences and needs of the military and veteran pop5 ulation. 

6 (5) Whether veterans with co-occurring condi7 tions receive integrated care to holistically address 

8 their needs. 

9 (6) Whether providers monitor health outcomes 

10 continually throughout treatment and at regular in11 tervals for up to three years after treatment. 

Æ 


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