Bipartisan legislation offered by U.S. Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) to expand mental health treatment options for United States military veterans became law last month with the president’s signature as part of a larger mental health care bill.
“Every veteran is impacted by their service differently and we owe them the best possible access to care,” Sen. McSally said. “I was pleased to see my bill to help veterans access innovative and potentially life-changing therapies signed into law as part of broader mental health legislation.”
Sen. McSally on Jan. 28 sponsored the Veterans Post-Traumatic Growth Act, S. 3235, with lead cosponsor U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA). The bill requires the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to conduct a two-year pilot program to study the effectiveness of nonprofit post-traumatic growth programs to determine the outcomes of such programs in contrast to traditional models of mental healthcare, according to the congressional record bill summary.
The study also will look at the possible integration of such nonprofit programs into VA mental health care programs, and the budgetary impact of such integration, according to the summary, which noted that “post-traumatic growth is the positive psychological change that can result from struggling with traumatic events.”
Post-traumatic growth therapy, added Sen. McSally, “can help turn veterans’ lives around.”
Language from S. 3235 became part of the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019, S. 785, a sweeping bill introduced in March 2019 by U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Jon Tester (D-MT) to update related VA transition assistance, mental health care, care for women veterans and telehealth care.
The U.S. Senate in August approved S. 785 with amendments and the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill in September. President Donald Trump signed the bill into law on Oct. 17.
“The broader bill will increase much-needed funding for state and local suicide prevention groups and improve VA telehealth access,” Sen. McSally said. “This is a crucial initiative to save lives and improve mental health care for veterans in our country.”