TOPEKA — The bipartisan duo of U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran of Kansas and Jon Tester of Montana celebrated signing of legislation they introduced to curtail suicide among veterans by more aggressively connecting them with mental health professionals.
Under the bill, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs must hire more mental health professionals, broaden access to telemedicine services, increase collaboration with community organizations to identify at-risk individuals and start a program to explore alternative treatment options, including animal or art therapy, outdoor sports and other activities. The bill was signed Saturday by President Donald Trump.
The legislation introduced by Tester and Moran in March 2019 was named in honor of U.S. Navy Commander John Scott Hannon, who retired to Montana to receive treatment. He died by suicide Feb. 25, 2018. An estimated 17 U.S. veterans die by suicide every day.
Moran, the Kansas Republican and chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said U.S. veterans suffered daunting mental health challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lives of veterans are imperiled by “lack of access to modern, effective and compassionate mental health care and suicide prevention services,” Moran said.
Tester, who serves as ranking Democrat of the VA committee, said the law would deliver access to lifesaving health care.
“This new law combines the best ideas from veterans, veterans service organizations, the VA and mental health care advocates to deliver innovative solutions that’ll help heal invisible wounds of war,” Tester said.
In a statement on behalf of the Hannon family, the late commander’s sister Kim Parrott said the law would provide veterans greater and earlier access to mental health care by requiring the U.S. Department of Defense and VA to work together to bridge the transition between military service and civilian life.
“This has been a long journey shepherded by the shared vision and leadership of both Senators Tester and Moran, and my family thanks them and the many others who worked tirelessly to make this law a reality,” she said.
Under the law, the VA will begin offering scholarships to mental health professionals to work at vet centers and to place at least one suicide prevention coordinator at every VA hospital. The VA is to improve telehealth services, especially in rural areas, for veterans in need of mental health care.
Greater VA collaboration with community organizations is to improve identification of veterans at risk for suicide. The VA is to study the impact of living at high altitude on suicide risk, diagnostic biomarkers for depression, post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and other conditions.
