By Aleisha Robinson, AFRO Intern and Lizzie Suber AFRO Intern
For the next three years, U.S. veterans will not have to pick up copay costs related to the first three outpatient appointments for mental health and substance abuse disorders, according to information released by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
The agency said on May 29 that the first three copays for these specific services will be covered from June 27, 2023 through Dec. 29, 2027. The benefit reduces veterans’ personal expenses and increases their access to behavioral health care.
To qualify for this benefit, the patient’s treatment must be conducted by a licensed mental health professional at Veterans Affairs (VA) or through a network of local healthcare providers. The VA will reimburse veterans for any copays they made on June 27, 2023 and beyond.
According to a VA press release, the Biden-Harris administration aims to provide all veterans with timely, world-class mental health care. They have recorded a 7 percent decrease in average mental health wait times since April 2024 and have increased veterans care. Furthermore, a survey conducted by VA records that the percentage of veterans who trust VA outpatient care reaches an all time high of 91.8 percent.
“We want every Veteran, regardless of their financial status, to have access to the mental health care they deserve—and that’s what this copayment exemption is all about,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough, in a statement released by the agency. “We are constantly working to expand access to mental health care, and we won’t rest until every Veteran has access to care whenever and wherever they need it.”
This copay exemption was implemented under the Cleland-Dole Act but is just one of multiple recent efforts to provide quality mental health services to more veterans.
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has hired over 9,000 mental health professionals since October 2021, with 2,000 of these hires occurring after October 2023. VHA’s staff retention rates are now at a historical high, with a 63.7 percent retention rate in fiscal year 2022.
Additionally, a policy introduced last year provides free suicide crisis care for qualifying constituents of VA at any emergency health center, providing nine million former service members and veterans with ready access to this emergency service. Sixty thousand individuals have already received millions of dollars’ worth of care through this program.
