Veterans Mental Health and Addiction Therapy Quality of Care Act

This legislation directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to contract with an independent organization to conduct a comprehensive study. The primary goal of this study is to compare the quality of mental health and addiction therapy care delivered by Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) providers against that offered by non-Department providers across various modalities, such as telehealth and residential treatment. The study must be completed within 18 months of the agreement and will assess several critical elements. These include the improvement in health outcomes , the application of evidence-based practices , and the effectiveness of veteran-centric care , including patient satisfaction and provider competency with veteran-specific needs. It will also examine whether veterans with co-occurring conditions receive integrated care and how health outcomes are monitored. Furthermore, the study will identify potential gaps in coordination between VA and non-VA providers, particularly concerning the sharing of patient health records, and compare the average length of time to initiate services. The final report, detailing these findings, will be submitted to the relevant Congressional committees and published on a publicly accessible website, aiming to enhance the quality of care for veterans.