Maggie Hassan Presses Veteran Care Experts On How To Expand Accessibility To Mental Health Services
Blumenthal. Um, and to our witnesses, thank you for your support of veterans. Um, Miss Hundre, I wanted to start with you. As you highlighted in your testimony, veterans often experience hardships in the transition period where they leave the military and re-enter civilian life. As you know, the GAO recommended that the DoD and VA’s joint executive committee, which oversees the coordination of healthcare and benefits between the military and the VA, assess the effectiveness of DoD’s and V VA’s efforts to facilitate facilitate access to mental health services for these transitioning service members. So, can you discuss why it’s important to make these kinds of assessments and how they can help lead to potentially improving the health care that our veterans are receiving during this critical time? Yes, thank you. So, in our work, we identified a number of helpful touch points um across the transition continuum, which is one year before separation to one year after. However, there was oftentimes some confusion about which program they need to or how it works. sometimes an awareness, lack of awareness. Some of the programs we found were late. So, for example, um there were two programs, solid start and in transition, both noble programs with good intent, but they were identifying the veterans two to three months after separation, which is already very late in the process. And so and there was also potential duplication getting similar phone calls which was resulting in confusion on the part of the veteran maybe being overwhelmed not knowing. So, not only was it late in the process, but looking across, excuse me, looking across there are a lot of different programs. I think each individually have again noble goals and provide critical services, but looking across it, it there was, you know, maybe some in some places that were a little too late, some that might be right. But can you as as we look at assessing this especially for mental health care, what is the value of this assessment in terms of mental health access? So the value of this assessment will be to look across and identify the timing whether there are gaps whether certain things could be done earlier whether for instance is the separation health assessment is supposed to have a mental health assessment that’s not happening now okay so I think they could identify where what is happening where there are gaps maybe there’s overlap or duplication and really look systematically across which I think could result in some savings on the part of DA DoD D or VA or both and they can take those and shift those so that’s really coming at the right time in a clear manner for the veteran that is better understandable. So I think it’s going to result in a more cohesive holistic approach and I think that’s you know critically important as somebody who who advocated it and worked on the solid start program. The idea was day one of the transition there would be these things in place, right? And that means that the organizations have to start planning before the veteran separates. Um Dr. Dr. Kovak, let me kind of follow up in a way on what uh Senator King was just talking about because I one of the issues you’ve raised is medication management for veterans who are receiving community care and you’ve discussed it’s really important that veterans who receive community care have their opioid prescriptions coordinated and monitored by the VA. The coordination and oversight obviously can be life-saving for veterans struggling with pain and mental health conditions. In 2023, the Inspector General’s Office looked into VA oversight of community care opioid prescriptions and found, and this is a quote, gaps in care coordination, documentation, and the use of risk mitigation strategies for system patients receiving community care. In your testimony, you stated that two of the seven recommendations from that 2023 report still haven’t been implemented. So, what problems remain in terms of ensuring that community care providers and the VA are working together to ensure that veterans, especially those who are being prescribed opioids are getting the safest, best care that they can. And what can we do in Congress to help? Yeah. Yeah. So, I think those two recommendations you’re referencing are specific to that information sharing and we have been working with IBC, which is the integrated veterans care um program office that runs community care. It is a struggle um to ensure that communication and oversight of that effective uh sharing of information and it will require likely changes to the contract, modifications to the contract that VA has with the TPA. currently they are up to renew that contract in the coming year. They are taking our considerations and concerns very seriously and we meet with them quarterly to discuss how we can move forward with ensuring these things happen. Well, let us know if you know if we can be helpful in that way and urging forward. Um and the I’m just about out of time so I’ll follow up in writing but um I am con continue to be really important really concerned um about the issue of veterans especially with mental health issues being given the right kind of follow-up instructions about their medications when they’re discharged. So I’ll follow up with a question in writing for you on that. Thanks Mr. Share.
At a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing, Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) questioned veterans healthcare experts on how to expand veteran access to mental health services.
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9 Comments
Veterans Don't get Medicare!!! only the standards of their local VA. If poor, Medicaid.Till OJuice stops it.
Veteran makes a disability claim for mental health, denied then takes 8 years after it is denied to get it to the Board of Appeals where its approved and finally gets treatment.
8 years. Otherwise its out of his own pocket.
Horrible things still happening in West LA VA
So instead on addressing issues just throw pills at them that dont work or make symptoms worse. i have to laugh the VA ignores my threatening messages or replies to call crisis line.
Medicaid is directly responsible for the astronomical cost of healthcare in the US. They tell you its for your benefit, but its just another system of slavery that keeps you beholden to your corporate overlords "or else." Every time they talk about healthcare subsidies, its a threat, not a concern.
Add ACA type deductibles to the public sector plans, from all of Congress through all Federal-State-County-City public workers and use this additional revenue to buy down the impact of the expiring subsidies.
Public Sector workers should not have better access to care than the people paying for everything.
Oh crap. This is literally going to be a blood bath. The life expectancy will drop by 5 years. It's a good thing we have privatized healthcare the rich and wealthy will live to spend all their money on healthcare and the poor will die and reduce the cost of the corporations non performing assets.
My daughter had this Obama Care trash. Most Doctors don't accept it. Plans suck.
I was on the Obama Care, it sucks! I had to leave a job I loved! I couldn't afford it, the deductible was too high, yes it helps people that can't afford health insurance to the point they don't want a raise or to work full time. They can get an MRI or a CT scan for nothing or minimal price. I didn't get anything, my total deductible was 15,000. I had to get catastrophic coverage, because something decent is 930 dollars a month- I wasn't even making six figures. Now to mention the doctors care sucks!!! You get 20 minutes and they are out, all they want is to push anti depression or anxiety drugs! I'm neither. This system needs to be fixed for everyone to afford and Great service by the doctors Better off staying with a job that offers it!