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Mental Health Care Copays

PRESS RELEASE

May 29, 2024

Washington , DC — Mental Health Care Copays

VA announced on May 29, 2024, that Veterans no longer need to pay copays for their first three outpatient mental health care and substance use disorder visits of each calendar year through 2027. 

  • This benefit expands Veterans’ access to mental health services and lowers their out-of-pocket costs.
  • To be eligible for this copay exemption, the outpatient visit must be with a qualified mental health professional at VA or provided through VA’s network of community care providers. 
  • In addition to this copayment exemption, VA launched a program allowing eligible Veterans and certain former service members in acute suicidal crisis to go to any VA or non-VA emergency facility for no-cost emergency health care.
  • More than 60,000 Veterans and former service members have used this benefit since 2023, providing them with lifesaving care and saving millions of dollars in health care costs.
  • This policy increased access to no-cost emergent suicide care for up to 9 million individuals.
    • Eligible individuals do not need to be enrolled in the VA system or go to a department facility to use this benefit.
  • VA has been aggressively hiring mental health professionals nationwide.
    • Over the last three fiscal years, VHA hired more than 9,000 mental health positions including psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, licensed professional mental health counselors, peer support specialists, mental health nurses and mental health physician assistants, Including 2,000 hires during fiscal year 2024.

 

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