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Veterans Mental Health and Addiction Therapy Quality of Care Act
S. 702 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 providers, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to contract with an independent organization to conduct a study comparing the quality of mental health and addiction therapy care provided by the VA to care provided by non-VA providers. The study must evaluate various treatment modalities including telehealth, inpatient, outpatient, and residential treatment, and must be completed within 18 months of the contract. The study must assess health outcomes, use of evidence-based practices, coordination between VA and non-VA providers, veteran satisfaction, treatment of co-occurring conditions, long-term outcome monitoring, and time to initiate services. The results must be submitted to Congressional committees and published on a publicly available website.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] (R-TX)
8 cosponsors
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to John Cornyn’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- CAPITAL GROUP $22,500
- ANDREESSEN HOROWITZ $16,500
- PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES $13,686
- WINKLEVOSS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT $13,200
- BLACKSTONE $12,600
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for John Cornyn → · Outside spending →
Actions (6)
- Dec 9, 2025 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 287. · senate
- Dec 9, 2025 Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Reported by Senator Moran without amendment. Without written report. · senate
- Jul 30, 2025 Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably. · senate
- Mar 11, 2025 Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 119-35. · senate
- Feb 25, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. · senate
- Feb 25, 2025 Introduced in Senate
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 25, 2025
Mr. Cornyn (for himself, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Fetterman, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Peters, Ms. Collins, and Mr. Warnock) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
December 9, 2025
Reported by Mr. Moran, 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 providers, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Veterans Mental Health and Addiction Therapy Quality of Care Act”.
SEC. 2. 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.
(a) In General.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 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—
(1) 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 modalities, such as telehealth, in-patient, intensive out-patient, out-patient, and residential treatment; and
(2) 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 study.
(b) Timing.—The Secretary shall ensure that the organization with which the Secretary enters into an agreement pursuant to subsection (a) is able to complete the requirements under such subsection by not later than 18 months after the date on which the agreement is entered into.
(c) Elements.—The report submitted pursuant to subsection (a)(2) shall include an assessment of the following:
(1) The amount of improvement in health outcomes from start of treatment to completion, including symptom scores and suicide risk using evidence-based scales, including the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale.
(2) Whether providers of the Department and non-Department providers are using evidence-based practices in the treatment of mental health and addiction therapy care, including criteria set forth by the American Society of Addiction Medicine.
(3) Potential gaps in coordination between providers of the Department and non-Department providers in responding to individuals seeking mental health or addiction therapy care, including the sharing of patient health records.
(4) Implementation of veteran-centric care, 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 population.
(5) Whether veterans with co-occurring conditions receive integrated care to holistically address their needs.
(6) Whether providers monitor health outcomes continually throughout treatment and at regular intervals for up to three years after treatment.
(7) The average length of time to initiate services, 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 service, as measured or determined by the Secretary. Calendar No. 287
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 702
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 providers, and for other purposes.
December 9, 2025
Reported without amendment
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