Veterans Mental Health and Addiction Therapy Quality of Care Act

This bill requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to contract with an independent and objective organization to conduct a comprehensive study. This study will compare the quality of mental health and addiction therapy care provided to veterans by Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare providers against that offered by non-Department providers. The comparison will encompass various treatment modalities, such as telehealth, in-patient, and residential care, with the final report due to Congress and publicly available within 18 months of the agreement. The study's report must assess several critical elements, including the improvement in health outcomes , the use of evidence-based practices , and potential gaps in coordination between VA and non-VA providers. It will also examine the implementation of veteran-centric care , patient satisfaction, and provider competency regarding military and veteran experiences. Furthermore, the study will analyze integrated care for co-occurring conditions, continuous outcome monitoring, and the average length of time for veterans to initiate services.