On December 27, President Joe Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (S.1605) into law. APA Services fought hard for a set of provisions that focused on research and increasing access for military members and their families to mental health services. The bill includes several provisions advocated for by APA Services and coalition partners, including:
- Protecting current research funding by authorizing a joint $42 million for the Minerva Research Initiative and the Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR).
- Directing the secretary of defense to provide a briefing to the armed services committees on the nonmedical counseling services currently available to military families and the feasibility and advisability of authorizing mental health care providers to provide these services.
- New pathways for referring servicemembers for mental health evaluations. (Sec. 704).
- Requiring the secretary of defense to establish modern clinical practice guidelines for postpartum mental health care and to establish a new pilot program to evaluate the effect of concurrent scheduling of appointments for postpartum care with appointments for well-baby care. (Sec. 707).
- Creating a pilot program to aid with scheduling mental health appointments at military medical treatment facilities. (Sec. 734).
See below for further resources on the FY22 NDAA:
- FY22 NDAA Bill Text (PDF, 4.83MB)opens in new window
- FY22 NDAA Bill Summary (PDF, 791KB)opens in new window
- FY22 NDAA Joint Explanatory Statement (PDF, 2.71MB)opens in new window
- President Signing Statement on FY22 NDAAopens in new window
For more information, contact Corbin Evans.