,,ii ,calendar ,no4 #bhg #aaith         
,,congress  #ast ,session  ,s4 #gjb     
,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united 
,,states  ,february #be1 #bjbe,mr4      
,cornyn 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,hassan1 ,mr4
 ,tillis1 ,mr4 ,fetterman1 ,mr4         
,cassidy1 ,mr4 ,bennet1 ,mr4 ,peters1   
,ms4 ,collins1 and ,mr4 ,warnock7       
introduced the following bill2 which was
 read twice and referred to the         
,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs       
,december #i1 #bjbe,reported by ,mr4    
,moran1 without amendment  ,a ,,bill    
,to require a study on the quality of   
care difference between mental health   
and addiction therapy care provided by  
health care providers of the ,department
 of ,veterans ,affairs compared to      
non-,department providers1 and for other
 purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act 
may be cited as the ,veterans ,mental   
,health and ,addiction ,therapy ,quality
 of ,care ,act4  #b4 ,study on quality  
of care difference between mental health
 and addiction therapy care provided by 

health care providers of ,department of 
,veterans ,affairs compared to          
non-,department providers  7a7 ,in      
general ,not later than #ij days after  
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs    
shall seek to enter into an agreement   
with an independent and objective       
organization outside the ,department of 
,veterans ,affairs under which that     
organization shall-- 7#a7 conduct a     
study on the quality of care difference 
between mental health and addiction     
therapy care under the laws administered
 by the ,secretary provided by health   
care providers of the ,department       
compared to non-,department providers   
across various modalities1 such as      
telehealth1 in-patient1 intensive       
out-patient1 out-patient1 and           
residential treatment2 and  7#b7 submit 
to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs
 of the ,senate and the ,committee on   
,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of    
,representatives and publish on a       

publicly available website a report     
containing the final results of such    
study4  7b7 ,timing ,the ,secretary     
shall ensure that the organization with 
which the ,secretary enters into an     
agreement pursuant to subsection 7a7 is 
able to complete the requirements under 
such subsection by not later than #ah   
months after the date on which the      
agreement is entered into4  7c7         
,elements ,the report submitted pursuant
 to subsection 7a77#b7 shall include an 
assessment of the following3 7#a7 ,the  
amount of improvement in health outcomes
 from start of treatment to completion1 
including symptom scores and suicide    
risk using evidence-based scales1       
including the ,columbia-,suicide        
,severity ,rating ,scale4  7#b7 ,whether
 providers of the ,department and       
non-,department providers are using     
evidence-based practices in the         
treatment of mental health and addiction
 therapy care1 including criteria set   
forth by the ,american ,society of      

,addiction ,medicine4  7#c7 ,potential  
gaps in coordination between providers  
of the ,department and non-,department  
providers in responding to individuals  
seeking mental health or addiction      
therapy care1 including the sharing of  
patient health records4  7#d7           
,implementation of veteran-centric care1
 including the level of satisfaction of 
patients with care and the competency of
 providers with the unique experiences  
and needs of the military and veteran   
population4  7#e7 ,whether veterans with
 co-occurring conditions receive        
integrated care to holistically address 
their needs4  7#f7 ,whether providers   
monitor health outcomes continually     
throughout treatment and at regular     
intervals for up to three years after   
treatment4  7#g7 ,the average length of 
time to initiate services1 which shall  
include a comparison of the average     
length of time between the initial point
 of contact after patient outreach to   
the point of initial service1 as        

measured or determined by the           
,secretary4  ,december #i1              
#bjbe,reported without amendment