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119-s-4137119th CongressWALLET

RECOVER Act

Sponsored By: Senator Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]

Introduced

Summary

Culturally competent, evidence-based mental health care for veterans through grants to community nonprofit outpatient providers. The pilot runs three years and focuses on reaching rural and medically underserved areas while encouraging VA enrollment.

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  • Veterans: Access free, culturally competent outpatient mental health care at grant-funded clinics, with providers required to help enroll eligible veterans in the VA patient enrollment system and barred from charging fees or denying care for lack of insurance.
  • Nonprofit providers: Eligible nonprofits must have run an outpatient mental health facility for at least three years to apply. Grants generally cap at $1.5 million per facility per year and have stricter limits when federal grants already fund half of a facility's budget.
  • Rural and underserved communities: Grants must be distributed evenly between rural and urban locations and may be prioritized for medically underserved areas, large veteran populations, facilities near military installations, or sites serving veterans at high risk of suicide.
  • Program rules and oversight: The VA Secretary will set clinician training standards, require data collection on clinical outcomes and use of funds, and report to Congress within 180 days after the pilot ends on veterans served, services provided, outcomes, enrollment, and obstacles.

*Authorizes $20 million per year for fiscal years 2025 through 2027 to carry out the three-year pilot program.*

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

Free outpatient mental health care for veterans

This bill would create a three-year VA pilot to fund nonprofit outpatient clinics to serve veterans. It would authorize $20 million for each of fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027. Eligible nonprofits must have run at least one U.S. outpatient mental health facility continuously for three years. Grants would generally be capped at $1,500,000 per facility per year, with a special cap rule for facilities that received 50% or more of their prior-year budget from Federal grants. Applicants would need to identify funded facilities and ensure at least one clinician per funded facility is trained under VA standards. Grantees would not be allowed to charge veterans fees or refuse care because a veteran lacks reimbursement eligibility, but they could seek reimbursement from health plans or VA community care. The VA would require data, outcome reporting, even rural/urban distribution of grants, and a report to Congress within 180 days after the pilot ends.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]

TN • R

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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