,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #cbaj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,january #af1  
#bjbj,mr4 ,cassidy 7for himself and ,ms4
 ,sinema7 introduced the following bill2
 which was read twice and referred to   
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs   
,a ,,bill  ,to require the ,secretary of
 ,veterans ,affairs1 in consultation    
with the ,secretary of ,defense and the 
,secretary of ,health and ,human        
,services1 to develop a clinical        
practice guideline or guidelines for the
 treatment of serious mental illness4   
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,improving ,mental ,health ,care
 for ,veterans ,act of #bjbj4  #b4      
,establishment by ,department of        
,veterans ,affairs and ,department of   
,defense of clinical practice guidelines
 for the treatment of serious mental    
illness  7a7 ,in general ,not later than
 two years after the date of the        
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
of ,veterans ,affairs1 in consultation  

with the ,secretary of ,defense and the 
,secretary of ,health and ,human        
,services1 shall complete the           
development of a clinical practice      
guideline or guidelines for the         
treatment of serious mental illness1 to 
include the following conditions3  7#a7 
,schizophrenia4  7#b7 ,schizoaffective  
disorder4  7#c7 ,persistent mood        
disorder1 including bipolar disorder ,i 
and ,,ii4  7#d7 ,any other mental1      
behavioral1 or emotional disorder       
resulting in serious functional         
impairment that substantially interferes
 with major life activities as the      
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs1 in    
consultation with the ,secretary of     
,defense and the ,secretary of ,health  
and ,human ,services1 considers         
appropriate4  7b7 ,matters included in  
guidelines ,the clinical practice       
guideline or guidelines developed under 
subsection 7a7 shall include the        
following3  7#a7 ,guidance contained in 
the #bjaf ,clinical ,practice           

,guidelines for the ,management of      
,major ,depressive ,disorders of the    
,department of ,veterans ,affairs and   
the ,department of ,defense4  7#b7      
,guidance with respect to the treatment 
of patients with a condition described  
in subsection 7a74  7#c7 ,a list of     
evidence-based therapies for the        
treatment of conditions described in    
subsection 7a74  7#d7 ,an appropriate   
guideline for the administration of     
pharmacological therapy1 psychological  
or behavioral therapy1 or other therapy 
for the management of conditions        
described in subsection 7a74  7c7       
,assessment of existing guidelines ,not 
later than two years after the date of  
the enactment of this ,act1 the         
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs1 in    
consultation with the ,secretary of     
,defense and the ,secretary of ,health  
and ,human ,services1 shall complete an 
assessment of the #bjaf ,clinical       
,practice ,guidelines for the           
,management of ,major ,depressive       

,disorders to determine whether an      
update to such guidelines is necessary4 
7d7 ,work group  7#a7 ,establishment    
,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs1  
the ,secretary of ,defense1 and the     
,secretary of ,health and ,human        
,services shall create a work group to  
develop the clinical practice guideline 
or guidelines under subsection 7a7 to be
 known as the ,serious ,mental ,illness 
,work ,group 7in this subsection        
referred to as the ,work ,group74  7#b7 
,membership ,the ,work ,group created   
under paragraph 7#a7 shall be comprised 
of individuals that represent ,federal  
,government entities and non-,federal   
,government entities with expertise in  
the areas covered by the ,work ,group1  
including the following entities3  7,a7 
,academic institutions that specialize  
in research for the treatment of        
conditions described in subsection 7a74 
7,b7 ,the ,health ,services ,research   
and ,development ,service of the        
,department of ,veterans ,affairs4  7,c7

 ,the ,office of the ,assistant         
,secretary for ,mental ,health and      
,substance ,use of the ,department of   
,health and ,human ,services4  7,d7 ,the
 ,national ,institute of ,mental        
,health4  7,e7 ,the ,indian ,health     
,service4  7,f7 ,relevant organizations 
with expertise in researching1          
diagnosing1 or treating conditions      
described in subsection 7a74  7#c7      
,relation to other work groups ,the     
,work ,group shall be created and       
conducted in the same manner as other   
work groups for the development of      
clinical practice guidelines for the    
,department of ,veterans ,affairs and   
the ,department of ,defense4  7e7 ,rule 
of construction ,nothing in this section
 shall be construed to prevent the      
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs and the
 ,secretary of ,defense from considering
 all relevant evidence1 as appropriate1 
in creating the clinical practice       
guideline or guidelines required under  
subsection 7a7 or from ensuring that the

 final clinical practice guideline or   
guidelines developed under such         
subsection and subsequently updated1 as 
appropriate1 remain applicable to the   
patient populations of the ,department  
of ,veterans ,affairs and the           
,department of ,defense4