TREAT Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8147 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to expand an existing pilot program, and to establish a new pilot program, related to complementary and integrative health services for veterans. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 Mr. LAMB (for himself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to expand an existing pilot program, and to establish a new pilot pro- gram, related to complementary and integrative health services for veterans. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Testing, Researching, 4 and Expanding Alternative Treatments Act’’ or the 5 ‘‘TREAT Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:02 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8147.IH H8147 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8147 IH SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF CERTAIN COMPLEMENTARY AND IN- 1 TEGRATIVE HEALTH SERVICES. 2 (a) PLAN REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days after 3 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 4 Veterans Affairs shall develop a plan to expand the pilot 5 program under section 933 of the Jason Simcakoski Me- 6 morial and Promise Act (title IX of Public Law 114–198; 7 38 U.S.C. 1701 note). 8 (b) ASSESSMENT; ELEMENTS.—The plan under sub- 9 section (a) shall include provisions for assessing the imple- 10 mentation of the plan and the effectiveness of services and 11 programs described in subsection (f) of that section 933, 12 including— 13 (1) the use and efficacy of complementary and 14 integrative health services delivered through the pilot 15 program for addressing mental health, pain manage- 16 ment, and treatment of chronic illness; 17 (2) the outreach conducted by the Secretary to 18 inform veterans and community organizations of 19 such services; and 20 (3) the experiences of veterans who received 21 such services. 22 (c) TREATMENTS DESCRIBED.—Complementary and 23 integrative health treatments described in this subjection 24 shall consist of the following: 25 (1) Yoga. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:02 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8147.IH H8147 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8147 IH (2) Meditation. 1 (3) Acupuncture. 2 (4) Chiropractic care. 3 (5) Other treatments that show sufficient evi- 4 dence of efficacy at treating mental or physical 5 health conditions, as determined by the Secretary. 6 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 270 days 7 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 8 shall implement the plan under subsection (a). 9 (e) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 10 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 11 to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 12 House of Representatives a report on activities carried out 13 under this section, including— 14 (1) the assessment under subsection (b); 15 (2) implementation under subsection (d); and 16 (3) such recommendations regarding the fur- 17 nishing of complementary and integrative health 18 treatments described in subsection (c) the Secretary 19 determines appropriate. 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:02 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8147.IH H8147 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8147 IH SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE VETERANS ACCESS 1 TO COMPLEMENTARY AND INTEGRATIVE 2 HEALTH SERVICES THROUGH ANIMAL THER- 3 APY, AGRITHERAPY, AND ADAPTIVE SPORTS, 4 RECREATION, AND OUTDOOR ADVENTURE. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet- 7 erans Affairs shall commence the conduct of a pilot pro- 8 gram to provide complementary and integrative health 9 services described in subsection (b) to eligible veterans 10 from the Department of Veterans Affairs or through the 11 use of non-Department entities for the treatment of post- 12 traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, or other 13 conditions as determined by the Secretary. 14 (b) TREATMENTS DESCRIBED.—Complementary and 15 integrative health treatments described in this subsection 16 shall consist of the following: 17 (1) Equine assisted therapy. 18 (2) Other animal therapy. 19 (3) Agritherapy. 20 (4) Post-traumatic growth programming. 21 (5) Adaptive sports, recreation, and outdoor ad- 22 venture. 23 (c) ELIGIBLE VETERANS.—A veteran is eligible to 24 participate in the pilot program under this section if the 25 veteran— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:02 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8147.IH H8147 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8147 IH (1) is enrolled in the system of patient enroll- 1 ment of the Department under section 1705(a) of 2 title 38, United States Code; and 3 (2) during the two-year period preceding the 4 initial participation of the veteran in the pilot pro- 5 gram— 6 (A) has received health care under the laws 7 administered by the Secretary; or 8 (B) has received rehabilitation and coun- 9 seling services from a Vet Center. 10 (d) DURATION.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 12 out the pilot program under this section for a three- 13 year period beginning on the commencement of the 14 pilot program. 15 (2) EXTENSION.—The Secretary may extend 16 the duration of the pilot program under this section 17 if the Secretary, based on the results of the interim 18 report submitted under subsection (f)(1), determines 19 that it is appropriate to do so. 20 (e) LOCATIONS.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall select 22 not fewer than five facilities of the Department at 23 which to carry out the pilot program under this sec- 24 tion. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:02 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8147.IH H8147 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8147 IH (2) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting facili- 1 ties under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure 2 that— 3 (A) the locations are in geographically di- 4 verse areas; and 5 (B) not fewer than three facilities serve 6 veterans in rural or highly rural areas (as de- 7 termined through the use of the Rural-Urban 8 Commuting Areas coding system of the Depart- 9 ment of Agriculture). 10 (f) RESEARCH ON EFFECTIVENESS OF TREAT- 11 MENT.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 13 out the pilot program in conjunction with academic 14 researchers affiliated with the Department of Vet- 15 erans Affairs, including through agreements under 16 paragraph (2), in order for those researchers to 17 study the effectiveness of the treatments described 18 in subsection (b). 19 (2) AGREEMENTS.—Before commencing the 20 pilot program, the Secretary shall seek to enter into 21 agreements with academic researchers to ensure ro- 22 bust data collection and gathering procedures are in 23 place under the pilot program in order to produce 24 peer-reviewed journal articles. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:02 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8147.IH H8147 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8147 IH (g) REPORTS.— 1 (1) INTERIM REPORT.— 2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 3 after the commencement of the pilot program 4 under this section, the Secretary shall submit to 5 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen- 6 ate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 7 the House of Representatives a report on the 8 progress of the pilot program. 9 (B) ELEMENTS.—The report required by 10 subparagraph (A) shall include the following: 11 (i) The number of participants in the 12 pilot program. 13 (ii) The type or types of therapy of- 14 fered at each facility at which the pilot 15 program is being carried out. 16 (iii) An assessment of whether partici- 17 pation by a veteran in the pilot program 18 resulted in any changes in clinically rel- 19 evant endpoints for the veteran with re- 20 spect to the conditions specified in sub- 21 section (a). 22 (iv) An assessment of effect on quality 23 of life and well-being of veterans partici- 24 pating in the pilot program, including the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:02 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8147.IH H8147 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8147 IH results of a satisfaction survey of the par- 1 ticipants in the pilot program, 2 disaggregated by treatment under sub- 3 section (b). 4 (v) An assessment of whether the pilot 5 program is effective in increasing the ad- 6 herence of veterans to mental health treat- 7 ment for the conditions described in sub- 8 section (a). 9 (vi) The determination of the Sec- 10 retary with respect to extending the pilot 11 program under subsection (d)(2). 12 (vii) Any recommendations of the Sec- 13 retary with respect to expanding the pilot 14 program. 15 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 16 after the termination of the pilot program under this 17 section, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 18 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com- 19 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep- 20 resentatives a final report on the pilot program. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:02 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8147.IH H8147 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS