Sailor Standard of Care Act of 2023

Subjects: Armed Forces and National Security


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3373 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3373

To direct the Secretary of the Navy to take certain actions relating to 
          improved mental health care, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 16, 2023

 Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia (for herself, Mr. Wittman, Mr. Panetta, Mr. 
Scott of Virginia, Ms. Tokuda, Mrs. McClellan, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and Mr. 
Joyce of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of the Navy to take certain actions relating to 
          improved mental health care, 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 ``Sailor Standard of Care Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. ACTIONS BY SECRETARY OF THE NAVY RELATING TO IMPROVED MENTAL 
              HEALTH CARE.

    (a) Reforms Relating to Limited Duty.--
            (1) Additional resources.--The Secretary of the Navy shall 
        provide additional resources to any unit with greater than 15 
        members of the Navy designated for limited duty at a given 
        time, including through the establishment of a new billet for a 
        medical officer, chaplain, and civilian employee of the 
        Department of Defense in a mental health position for such 
        unit.
            (2) Mental health screening.--The Secretary of the Navy 
        shall require that each member of the Navy designated for 
        limited duty receives, upon such designation and once every 60 
        days thereafter for the duration of such designation, a mental 
        health screening by a mental health professional of the 
        Department.
            (3) Framework.--The Secretary of the Navy shall establish a 
        framework to ensure--
                    (A) centralized leadership for the management of 
                members of the Navy designated for limited duty and 
                centralized responsibility for the well-being of such 
                members while so designated; and
                    (B) a smooth transition for members of the Navy who 
                have suicidal ideations or other mental health care 
                needs during transfers between units or while 
                designated for limited duty.
            (4) Report.--Not later than December 31, 2024, the 
        Secretary of the Navy shall submit to the Committees on Armed 
        Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate a 
        report on--
                    (A) whether timeliness standards applicable to the 
                timing of appointments between medical providers and 
                members of the Navy designated for limited duty are 
                sufficient, as determined by the Secretary of the Navy, 
                and the extent to which such standards are complied 
                with; and
                    (B) the number of databases used to track the 
                status of such appointments and recommendations by the 
                Secretary of the Navy regarding methods to simplify 
                such tracking.
            (5) Briefing.--Not later than January 31, 2024, the 
        Secretary of the Navy shall provide to the Committees on Armed 
        Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate a 
        briefing on--
                    (A) the average number of days for the medical 
                separation of a member of the Navy previously 
                designated for limited duty; and
                    (B) recommendations for steps the Secretary of the 
                Navy may take to streamline and expedite applicable 
                processes to ensure such separation is timely.
    (b) Resources Dashboard.--Not later than December 31, 2024, the 
Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs shall 
establish and maintain a dashboard to track quality of life programs of 
the Department of the Navy (including such programs relating to 
childcare, healthcare, education, housing, and spouse employment) and 
the rate of usage of each such program.
    (c) Best Practices in Dealing With Multiple Suicides.--
            (1) Study.--The Secretary of the Navy shall conduct a study 
        on recent cases in which multiple suicides occurred within 30 
        days of each other among members assigned to the same unit or 
        command of the Department of the Navy.
            (2) Elements.--The study under paragraph (1) shall include 
        an assessment of the following:
                    (A) Any underlying quality of life issues that may 
                have been prevalent among the unit or command leading 
                up to the initial suicide.
                    (B) The culture of the unit or command prior to 
                such initial suicide.
                    (C) The actions taken immediately following such 
                initial suicide and preceding any subsequent suicides.
                    (D) Whether the individuals who completed suicide 
                had previously expressed suicide ideation and whether 
                such individuals engaged with mental health resources 
                available prior to completing suicide.
                    (E) The mental health resources that were available 
                to such individuals prior to the initial suicide, after 
                the initial suicide, and after any subsequent suicides.
            (3) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Navy shall submit 
        to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of 
        Representatives and the Senate a report containing the findings 
        of the study under paragraph (1) and a standard operating 
        procedure of the Department of the Navy for responding to 
        multiple suicides.
    (d) Report on Mental Health Care Under TRICARE.--Not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the House 
of Representatives and the Senate a report containing the following:
            (1) An analysis of the average timeline to credential 
        potential mental health care providers under the TRICARE 
        program as compared to the timeline under Medicare and other 
        major insurance networks, including quantitative data 
        regarding, with respect to individuals applying for 
        credentialing as mental health care providers under the TRICARE 
        program, the following:
                    (A) The denial of such applications.
                    (B) The method and frequency of notifications 
                regarding the application provided to such applicants.
                    (C) With respect to denied applications, the method 
                of feedback provided to such applicants, and the 
                resolution processes available to such applicants.
            (2) The number of current and projected mental health care 
        providers under the TRICARE program, as compared to the number 
        of civilian mental health care providers outside of such 
        program, and a description of any capacity shortfalls with 
        respect to mental health care providers under the TRICARE 
        program, taking into account the mental health crisis within 
        the Armed Forces.
            (3) An analysis of the reimbursement rates for mental 
        health care providers under the TRICARE program, disaggregated 
        by TRICARE provider network region, as compared to the average 
        reimbursement rates for such providers under private health 
        insurance plans and Medicare.
            (4) An assessment of--
                    (A) whether the Secretary of Defense, in carrying 
                out the TRICARE program, has used the methods outlined 
                in part 199.14 of title 32, Code of Federal 
                Regulations, to increase reimbursement rates in certain 
                geographic locations; and
                    (B) what, if any, corrective measures have been 
                taken since the publication by the Comptroller General 
                of the United States of the report titled ``Defense 
                Health Care: TRICARE Multiyear Surveys Indicate 
                Problems with Access to Care for Nonenrolled 
                Beneficiaries (GAO 13-364)'' on April 2, 2013, and in 
                particular, corrective measures addressing the finding 
                of such report dealing with civilian mental health care 
                providers and reimbursement rates.
            (5) The status of implementing the recommendations 
        contained in the report of the Inspector General of the 
        Department of Defense published August 10, 2020, titled 
        ``Evaluation of Access to Mental Health Care in the Department 
        of Defense (DODIG-2020-112)'' (or any successor report) and the 
        estimated implementation date for any such recommendations that 
        have not been implemented as of the date of the submission of 
        the report.
            (6) An assessment of what, if any, additional authorities 
        and resources may be needed by the Department of Defense to 
        effectively address the issue of timely access to mental 
        healthcare for members of the Armed Forces on active duty and 
        the dependents thereof.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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