New law will give military families more access to counseling, mental health services

ATLANTA — Bipartisan legislation by Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff and North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer was signed into law as part of the latest National Defense Authorization Act.

According to a release from Ossoff’s office, the Military Families Mental Health Services Act, now law, will broaden access to counseling and mental health services for both military service members and their families.

Additionally, the law will waive out-of-pocket expenses for active-duty military families on TRICARE for the first three outpatient mental health visits each year, providing a better ability to receive treatment.

“Our bipartisan law will expand free access to counseling and mental health services for military families, who make great sacrifices for our nation, endure great stress in so doing, and deserve nothing less than the care they need when they need it,” Ossoff said in a statement.

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As previously reported by Channel 2 Action News, there are roughly 63,414 active military personnel in Georgia, with 79,363 dependents.

All of them would be able to participate in mental health treatment, if needed, under the provisions of the newly passed legislation.

The most recent data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reported there was a big increase in veteran suicides, shown for the transition from 2020 to 2021.

“The increase in Veteran suicides seen in 2021, compared to 2020, was particularly seen in women Veterans, for whom there was a 24.1% increase in the age-adjusted suicide rate, compared to an increase of 6.3% among male Veterans,” the report said.

In 2021, the VA said suicide was the 13th leading cause of death for veterans overall with 6,392 suicide deaths that year. It was the second leading cause of death for veterans younger than 45 years old, according to the VA.

The same data said there were 46,412 suicides by U.S. adults in 2021, meaning veterans alone accounted for almost 14%. Of those suicide deaths, 226 were in Georgia, the VA said, up from 2020 by more than 40. In 2020, 183 Georgia veterans committed suicide, according to the VA.

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