Sec. 736. Authorization of pilot program to survey access to mental health care under military health system
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/bill/117/hr/4350/pcs/section-736·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds that— there is a connection between stigma, mental health care access, and death by suicide; and current command climate surveys lack sufficient questions regarding mental health stigma. It is the sense of Congress that— military research and research of the Department of Veterans Affairs significantly contribute to overall health care research useful for all individuals; and command climate surveys provide an important function for ensuring safe command environments.
The Secretary of Defense may carry out a pilot program to survey access to mental health care under the military health system. In carrying out a pilot program pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure that an adequate number of command climate surveys that include questions on access to mental health care under the military health system are administered to a representative sample of active duty members of the Armed Forces across each military department. Such questions shall be developed by the survey administrator of the Defense Organizational Climate Survey and shall address, at a minimum, the following matters:
The perceived ability of the respondent to access mental health care under the military health system. Whether the respondent has previously been prohibited from, or advised against, accessing such care. Any overall stigma perceived by the respondent with respect to such care. The belief of the respondent that receiving care from a mental health care provider may harm the career, or the ability to obtain a security clearance, of the respondent. The belief of the respondent that receiving a mental health diagnosis may harm the career, or the ability to obtain a security clearance, of the respondent.
The authority to carry out a pilot program under paragraph
(1)shall terminate on September 1, 2023. Not later than 90 days after the date on which a pilot program carried out pursuant to paragraph
(1)terminates, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report on the results of the updated surveys administered pursuant to the pilot program. In this section, the terms active duty , Armed Forces , and military departments have the meanings given those terms in section 101 of title 10, United States Code.