Agricultural Access to Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Mental Health Care Act of 2025
The Agricultural Access to Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Mental Health Care Act of 2025 would require a two-year GAO study (Comptroller General) on how accessible substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and mental health care are for farmers and ranchers. The study would examine availability of trained providers in rural areas, identify barriers to access (financial, geographic, cultural), and highlight best practices and programs at the state/local level that could be scaled up federally. It would also assess how the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network is being used by grantees and issue recommendations to improve access and utilization of care for agricultural communities. The bill does not itself create new programs or funding; it directs an evaluative study and reporting to multiple federal agencies and congressional committees.
Key Points
- 1Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to conduct a two-year study on accessibility of SUD treatment and mental health care for farmers and ranchers and to deliver a report to specified federal agencies and congressional committees.
- 2The study must evaluate the availability and accessibility of rural providers trained to serve farmers, ranchers, agricultural workers, and their families.
- 3It must identify barriers to access (financial, geographic, cultural) that farmers and ranchers face when seeking SUD and mental health services.
- 4It must identify best practices and replicable programs at state and local levels, including workforce hiring/training, cultural competency, paraprofessional certification, youth curricula, telehealth expansion, stigma-reduction outreach, and coordination with agricultural groups, plus program evaluation.
- 5It must consider the use and effectiveness of the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network grantees and provide recommendations to improve accessibility and utilization of SUD and mental health services for agricultural communities.