I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4684 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs to furnish mental health care to certain former members of 
the Armed Forces who are not otherwise eligible to receive such care, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 3, 2016 
Mr. COFFMAN (for himself, Mr. KILMER, and Miss RICE of New York) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Vet-
erans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs to furnish mental health care 
to certain former members of the Armed Forces who 
are not otherwise eligible to receive such care, 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 ‘‘Veteran Urgent Access 
to Mental Healthcare Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF INITIAL AND URGENT MENTAL 
HEALTH CARE FOR CERTAIN FORMER MEM-
BERS OF THE ARMED FORCES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 17 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1720G 
the following new section: 
‘‘§ 1720H. Provision of initial and urgent mental 
health care for certain former members 
not otherwise eligible for care 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall operate a 
program under which the Secretary provides to former 
members of the Armed Forces described in subsection 
(b)— 
‘‘(1) an initial mental health assessment; and 
‘‘(2) any health care services authorized under 
this chapter that the Secretary determines are re-
quired to treat the urgent mental health care needs 
of the former member, including risk of suicide or 
harming others. 
‘‘(b) FORMER MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES 
DESCRIBED.—A former member of the Armed Forces de-
scribed in this subsection is an individual who meets either 
of the following criteria: 
‘‘(1) The individual is a former member of the 
Armed Forces, including the reserve components, 
who— 
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‘‘(A) served in the active military, naval, or 
air service, and was discharged or released 
therefrom under a condition that is not honor-
able except— 
‘‘(i) dishonorable; or 
‘‘(ii) bad conduct by reason of the 
sentence of a general court martial; 
‘‘(B) has applied for a character of service 
determination and such determination has not 
been made; and 
‘‘(C) is not otherwise eligible to enroll in 
the health care system established by section 
1705 of this title by reason of such discharge 
or release not meeting the requirements of sec-
tion 101(2) of this title. 
‘‘(2) The individual is a veteran described in 
section 1705(a)(8) of this title. 
‘‘(c) CONTRACT.—In furnishing mental health care 
services to an individual under this section, the Secretary 
may provide such mental health care services pursuant to 
a contract with a qualified mental health professional if— 
‘‘(1) in the judgment of a mental health profes-
sional employed by the Department, the receipt of 
mental health care services by that individual in fa-
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cilities of the Department would be clinically inadvis-
able; or 
‘‘(2) facilities of the Department are not capa-
ble of furnishing such mental health care services to 
that individual economically because of geographical 
inaccessibility. 
‘‘(d) TRAINING.—In establishing a program to pro-
vide mental health care services under subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) provide for appropriate training of mental 
health professionals and such other health care per-
sonnel as the Secretary determines necessary to 
carry out the program effectively; 
‘‘(2) seek to ensure that such mental health 
care services is furnished in a setting that is thera-
peutically appropriate, taking into account the cir-
cumstances that resulted in the need for such men-
tal health care services; and 
‘‘(3) provide referral services to assist former 
members who are not eligible for services under this 
chapter to obtain those from sources outside the De-
partment. 
‘‘(e) INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall provide in-
formation on the mental health care services available 
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under this section. Efforts by the Secretary to provide 
such information— 
‘‘(1) shall include availability of a toll-free tele-
phone number (commonly referred to as an 800 
number); 
‘‘(2) shall ensure that information about the 
mental health care services available under this sec-
tion— 
‘‘(A) is revised and updated as appro-
priate; 
‘‘(B) is made available and visibly posted 
at appropriate facilities of the Department; and 
‘‘(C) is made available through appropriate 
public information services; and 
‘‘(3) shall include coordination with the Sec-
retary of Defense seeking to ensure that members of 
the Armed Forces and individuals who are being 
separated from active military, naval, or air service 
are provided appropriate information about pro-
grams, requirements, and procedures for applying 
for mental health care services under this section. 
‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Each year, the Secretary 
shall submit to Congress an annual report on the mental 
health care services provided pursuant to this section. 
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Each report shall include data for the year covered by the 
report with respect to each of the following: 
‘‘(1) The number of individuals who received 
mental health care services under subsection (a), 
disaggregated by the number of men who received 
such services and the number of women who re-
ceived such services. 
‘‘(2) Such other information as the Secretary 
considers appropriate.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of chapter 17 of title 38, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 1720G the following new item: 
‘‘1720H. Provision of initial and urgent mental health care not otherwise eligible 
for care.’’. 
(c) STUDY ON EFFECT OF COMBAT SERVICE ON SUI-
CIDE RATES.— 
(1) STUDY.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 
in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall 
seek to enter into a contract with an independent 
nongovernmental entity to carry out a study on the 
effect combat service has had on suicide rates and 
serious mental health issues among veterans. To the 
extent practicable, such study shall— 
(A) compare the rate and method of sui-
cides among veterans who have received mental 
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health care services from the Veterans Health 
Administration and veterans who have not re-
ceived such services from the Veterans Health 
Administration; and 
(B) compare the rate and method of sui-
cides and the incidence of serious mental health 
issues among veterans who have served in com-
bat and veterans who have not served in com-
bat. 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress a report 
containing the study conducted under paragraph (1). 
Æ 
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