Current Policy on Veterans Access to Mental Health Treatment within the VA.
Current Policy in New Hampshire State
CHAPTER 34
HB 1582-FN – FINAL VERSION of Veteran’s Bill of Rights
Section 115-D:3
Citation: NH Rev Stat § RSA 126-A:82
The Regulation encompasses veteran health navigators identifying all the federal and other mental health benefits, coverages and services available to veterans and their families and ensuring that each eligible veteran receives them. These benefits are about suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and suicide conditions. The Regulation is to be achieved through coordination with local, state and governmental agencies as they also consult with non-profit organizations, service providers such as Veteran Affairs Medical Centers, the United States Department of Veteran Affairs and other regions that have developed effective prevention and treatment systems for veterans requiring mental health services. This will be achieved by identifying structural and logistical barriers to accessing mental health treatment, which includes the perceived stigma, long distances traveled to go to respective mental health institutions and other challenges. Increased coordination among all the stakeholders will see the barriers resolved, even without any legislative or budgetary actions.
This Regulation is still a new law signed into law on July 28, 2020, by Governor Sununu after it was introduced in March 2019 and underwent the entire bill process. The Regulation will be effective on September 26, 2020. Hence, the law is expected to be implemented through full cooperation of the Commission selected as per Chapter 15 of New Hampshire law with other agencies in ensuring the veterans gain access to the mental health services with mandatory reports to be presented to the state authorities annually.
Current Benefits and Services
Currently, the HB 1582 law is a collection of various regulations covering issues related to veterans. The law has not concentrated only on veterans receiving mental health services but also on financial incentives to start businesses, tuition waivers in-state university and community college systems to disable state veterans. The law also prohibits the high education systems from discriminating applicants for veteran, military or employee status. Therefore, through this Regulation, the state veterans will be benefiting from various veteran programs as they were now considered the veteran’s Bill of Rights.
Since House Bill 1582 incorporated various pieces of legislation, it will offer support to the long-term success of veterans living and working in the State (Rayno, 2010). Considering the individuals will be able to start businesses or find jobs and apprenticeships to improve their skill sets and also get physical and mental health services to help them manage any related disorders. Veterans are bound to have their quality of life improved. This also encompasses the quality of life for their families. The Regulation is implemented through the New Hampshire Veterans Institutions of Physical and mental services, having formal agreements with the United States Department of Veteran Affairs, New Hampshire State Office of Veterans Services and local health care facilities offering inpatient hospitalization and specialized outpatient care. The various health institutions’ various services will be related to distinct disciplines such as nursing, physical therapy, dietary, social work, therapeutic recreation, and spiritual care. This kind of care is considered person-centered care to achieve a higher quality of care and life.
The eligibility requirements for one to receive the Regulation’s benefits and services are related to the description of a veteran as defined in 38 U.S. Code § 10 (Legal Information Institute, n.d.). Accordingly, a veteran is an applicant who has worked in one of the stated army related agencies, and the resident being an applicant to the State of New Hampshire for at least a year before the application date or has the state listed as their “home of record” on the military discharge papers. Furthermore, the applicant’s condition should be within the resources available in the region, and it can treat the applicant is not the potential harm to self or others. There is no minimum age for eligibility to apply. Someone’s assets are to determine the financial contributions in getting the respective services.
Pros and Cons of the New Hampshire Veterans’ Home: Section 119:1
Through this Regulation,veterans receive medical services, nursing services, Helped living and other forms of care in conjunction with other benefits. Considering the minimum eligibility requirements, the Regulation will ensure that many veterans, regardless of limited financial constraints, ensuring that they get much-needed long-term care. Most veterans have affirmed that living arrangements that allow them to interact with other veterans are preferred due to the bond of brotherhood they have built over the military. Many of them find it challenging to seek help in non-veteran institutions under Medicaid insurance (The Senior Veterans Service Alliance, 2020). The veterans also get financial incentives for their economic growth and can join other apprentice classes to improve skill sets. Suppose they do not have financial resources or Medicaid Insurance, and their names come up as eligible to receive treatment. Partnerships of the Commission in Charge of Veteran Affairs in the state with various agencies have increased its capacity to ensure that patients receive the best care (The Senior Veterans Service Alliance, 2020). These are vast benefits for veterans through the establishment set out by Section HB 1582.
Nonetheless, despite the Regulation being a promising law for the veterans and having federal Regulation implemented simultaneously, there is still a gap to fill in terms of a regulation that is exclusively concentrating on mental health issues for veterans. The Regulation has yet to receive any opposition to the benefits and services to its veterans, but policymakers seek to have the scope of services expanded.
References
New Hampshire statutes: CHAPTER 34: HB 1582-FN – FINAL VERSION. Retrieved from https://bills.nhliberty.org/bills/2020/HB1582
Rayno, G. (2020, July 29). Veterans protection bill signed into law in New Hampshire. Retrieved from https://patch.com/new-hampshire/concord-nh/veterans-protection-bill-signed-law-new-hampshire
Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). 38 U.S. code § 101 – Definitions. Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/38/101
The Senior Veterans Service Alliance. (2020). What are state veterans’ homes and other state veterans’ benefits? Retrieved from https://www.veteransaidbenefit.org/state_veterans_nursing_homes.
