HR 241119th CongressIn Committee

Sergeant Ted Grubbs Mental Healthcare for Disabled Veterans Act

Introduced: Jan 9, 2025

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

This bill, titled the Sergeant Ted Grubbs Mental Healthcare for Disabled Veterans Act, would amend 38 U.S.C. to add a firm five-day access standard for certain veterans when the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides hospital care, medical services, or extended care services for a mental disorder. Specifically, for veterans who have a service-connected mental disorder rated at 50 percent or more, the VA must furnish the requested care within five days of the date the veteran requests it. The standard is framed within the VA’s community care access mechanisms, meaning it applies to care arranged through VA’s Community Care program (non-VA providers under VA contracts) as well as related access obligations. In short, the bill creates a tight, time-bound requirement for delivering mental health care to a subset of veterans with significant service-connected mental health conditions, aiming to improve timeliness of treatment. Sponsor: Rep. Mike Yakym (1st introduced in the 119th Congress). Status: Introduced and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

Key Points

1Adds a new 5-day access standard: For a covered veteran with a service-connected mental disorder rated at 50% or more, the VA must furnish the specified care within five days of the request.
2Scope of care: Applies to hospital care, medical services, or extended care services for the veteran’s mental disorder.
3Beneficiary group: Targets veterans with a service-connected mental disorder rated at 50% or higher.
4Legal basis touched: The standard is added to the VA’s community care access standards under 38 U.S.C. 1703B(a), integrating the requirement into the framework governing care delivered through or arranged by the Community Care program.
5Legislative status and sponsorship: Introduced in the House as H.R. 241 by Rep. Mike Yakym and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs; no further committee action is included in the provided text.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected:- Veterans with a service-connected mental disorder rated at 50% or greater who seek hospital, medical, or extended care services, including those receiving care via the VA Community Care program.Secondary group/area affected:- VA and community care providers (contracted or non-VA providers) who would need to meet the new 5-day standard, potentially increasing scheduling, triage, and coordination requirements.Additional impacts:- Operational and administrative burden on VA and its community care network to track requests and ensure care is provided within five days.- Potential budget and contracting implications to support faster access, including staffing, capacity, and provider availability.- Ambiguity around implementation details (e.g., what constitutes a valid “request,” how holidays or weekends are handled, and how the five-day clock interacts with prior authorizations or coverage determinations). The bill does not specify enforcement mechanisms or penalties.Service-connected mental disorder: A mental health condition that VA has recognized as related to military service.Rated 50 percent or more: The VA disability rating assigned to the mental disorder is at least 50%.Community care: Care delivered by non-VA providers (or VA-contract providers) paid for or arranged through VA’s Community Care program, rather than solely inside VA facilities. This bill ties the new standard to those community care access provisions.

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