I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2767 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for eating disorders 
treatment for members and certain former members of the uniformed 
services, and dependents of such members, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 15, 2019 
Mr. MOULTON (for himself and Mr. MAST) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for eating 
disorders treatment for members and certain former 
members of the uniformed services, and dependents of 
such members, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supporting Eating dis-
orders Recovery through Vital Expansion Act’’ or the 
‘‘SERVE Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(6) Family members of members of the Armed 
Forces have a higher prevalence of eating disorders 
than the general population, with 20 percent of chil-
dren of members of the Armed Forces found at risk 
of developing an eating disorder. 
(7) Research has found a significant relation-
ship between eating disorders and members of the 
Armed Forces and veterans with a history of post- 
traumatic stress and sexual trauma. 
(8) Female members of the Armed Forces have 
a particularly high risk for an eating disorder, as 
studies have found that 16 percent of such members 
have an eating disorder and 34 percent of such 
members are at risk of developing an eating dis-
order. 
SEC. 3. EATING DISORDERS TREATMENT FOR DEPEND-
ENTS. 
Section 1077 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(5), by inserting ‘‘, includ-
ing, in accordance with subsection (i), eating dis-
orders’’ after ‘‘chronic conditions’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
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‘‘(i)(1) The provision of health care services for an 
eating disorder under subsection (a)(5) shall include treat-
ment at facilities providing the following hospital-based or 
freestanding services: 
‘‘(A) Inpatient services. 
‘‘(B) Residential services. 
‘‘(C) Partial hospitalization services. 
‘‘(D) Intensive outpatient services. 
‘‘(E) Outpatient services. 
‘‘(2) A dependent may be provided health care serv-
ices for an eating disorder under subsection (a)(5) without 
regard to— 
‘‘(A) the age of the dependent; and 
‘‘(B) whether the dependent has a primary di-
agnosis of such disorder. 
‘‘(3) In this section, the term ‘eating disorder’ has 
the meaning given that term in the Diagnostic and Statis-
tical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (or suc-
cessor edition), published by the American Psychiatric As-
sociation.’’. 
SEC. 4. IDENTIFICATION AND TREATMENT OF EATING DIS-
ORDERS FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 
FORCES. 
Section 1090 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended— 
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(1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary of Defense’’ and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION AND TREATMENT OF EATING 
DISORDERS AND DRUG AND ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE.— 
The Secretary of Defense’’; 
(2) by inserting ‘‘have an eating disorder or’’ 
before ‘‘are dependent on drugs or alcohol’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
sections: 
‘‘(b) FACILITIES AVAILABLE TO INDIVIDUALS WITH 
EATING DISORDERS.—For purposes of this section, ‘nec-
essary facilities’ described in subsection (a) shall include 
the facilities described in section 1077(i)(1). 
‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY FOR TREATMENT.—The Secretary 
of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security with 
respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as 
a service in the Navy, may not deny a member of the 
armed forces treatment for an eating disorder on the basis 
that such disorder is not the primary diagnosis of such 
member. 
‘‘(d) EATING DISORDER DEFINED.—In this section, 
the term ‘eating disorder’ has the meaning given that term 
in section 1077(i)(3).’’. 
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SEC. 5. MENTAL HEALTH EARLY IDENTIFICATION TRAIN-
ING. 
Section 1090a of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (1); 
(B) by striking the period and inserting ‘‘; 
and’’ at the end of paragraph (2); and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(3) encourage commanders and supervisory 
personnel to undertake mental health early identi-
fication training.’’; and 
(2) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(4) The term ‘mental health early identifica-
tion training’ means a training designed to educate 
the trainee on— 
‘‘(A) warning signs and symptoms of men-
tal health illness, including an eating disorder; 
and 
‘‘(B) how to refer an individual for mental 
health treatment.’’. 
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SEC. 6. EXPEDITED ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH CARE. 
(a) FACILITIES PROVIDING MENTAL HEALTH SERV-
ICES.—Chapter 55 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 1095g the following 
new section: 
‘‘§ 1095h. Expedited approval of certain facilities pro-
viding mental health services 
‘‘The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to estab-
lish that a facility may receive expedited authorization to 
provide services under this chapter if— 
‘‘(1) such facility is affiliated with a facility or 
provider authorized to provide services under this 
chapter; and 
‘‘(2) such facility only provides mental health 
services.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 1095g the following new 
item: 
‘‘1095h. Expedited approval of certain facilities providing mental health serv-
ices.’’. 
Æ 
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