Title: REACH MIL Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Recovery Engagement And Coordination for Health-Military Innovations for Life Act or the REACH MIL Act
This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to carry out a suicide prevention pilot program using predictive techniques currently utilized by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). DOD shall share information with the VA to ensure that an active-duty service member who transitions from the military health care system may schedule follow-up mental health appointments with the VA.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4992 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4992

  To direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a pilot program on 
         suicide prevention in the military health care system.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 8, 2019

 Ms. Gabbard introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a pilot program on 
         suicide prevention in the military health care system.

    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 ``Recovery Engagement And Coordination 
for Health-Military Innovations for Life Act'' or the ``REACH MIL 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM ON SUICIDE PREVENTION IN MILITARY HEALTH CARE 
              SYSTEM.

    (a) Pilot Program.--The Secretary of Defense, in collaboration with 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall carry out a pilot program on 
suicide prevention in the military health care system. Such program 
shall be similar to the REACH VET predictive analysis pilot program 
carried out by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
    (b) Predictive Analytics Process.--
            (1) Pre-emptive care.--In carrying out the pilot program, 
        the Secretary of Defense shall analyze existing data from 
        health records of members of the Armed Force serving on active 
        duty to identify the members who are at a statistically 
        elevated risk for suicide, hospitalization, illness, or other 
        adverse outcomes, in order to provide pre-emptive care and 
        support for such members before such members have or express 
        suicidal thoughts to clinicians.
            (2) Process.--The Secretary shall ensure that the 
        predictive analytics process developed pursuant to paragraph 
        (1)--
                    (A) identifies members of the Armed Forces serving 
                on active duty who are at high statistical risk for 
                suicide;
                    (B) flags the records of the members; and
                    (C) requires health care providers of the military 
                health care system to contact such members to initiate 
                a care plan.
    (c) Information Sharing.--The Secretary of Defense shall provide 
information under the pilot program under subsection (a) with the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that a member of the Armed 
Forces serving on active duty who transitions from the military health 
care system to the health care system of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs is able to schedule appropriate follow-up mental health care 
appointments with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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