WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s (D-Ga.) bipartisan bill to strengthen oversight of mental health treatment in the armed forces recently passed the Senate.
Senators Ossoff and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) introduced the Servicemember Mental Health Support Act as a bipartisan amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act to strengthen oversight of Department of Defense policies for referring active-duty personnel to outside mental health care specialists.
“Military service members have described to me the difficulty they’ve had getting a referral out to mental health services at clinics and counseling centers in the community. I want to make sure that service members have access timely when they need mental health support,” Ossoff said. “I’ve passed with bipartisan support from Republicans and Democrats this Servicemember Mental Health Support Act, which is going to strengthen oversight at the Department of Defense of that referral process when a service member needs to access mental health support services, we want to make sure that referral is timely, efficient, and confidential.”
Active duty service members may seek mental health treatment at a military facility without receiving a referral, but they are not permitted to access private care, such as telehealth sessions, without first obtaining a referral from a doctor on post.
However, senior enlisted personnel across the armed forces have reported that many active-duty members are struggling to receive care in a timely manner.
The bipartisan bill would require the DoD to submit a report to Congress that contains recommendations for improving service members’ access to mental health care specialists, such as group counselors or psychiatrists, with hopes of increasing enrollment in these services and ensuring service members receive the timely support…
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