Racine Sun

District 1 Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) and Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) introduced the No Veteran Falls Through the Cracks Act two days ahead of Veterans Day, requiring the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) to follow up with veterans rescheduling mental health appointments.

Steil tweeted Nov. 10, sharing a link to a press release introducing the bill.

“It is critical that we support our veterans. I introduced legislation to expand access to mental health services at the VA and ensure our veterans and their families have access to the care they need,” Steil wrote in his tweet.

The release says the VA is not currently required to follow up to reschedule when a veteran cancels a mental health appointment. Steil said he will continue to work to increase access to mental health services for veterans.

A report by the Rand Corp. states 6,435 veterans died by suicide in 2018. The suicide rate among veterans that year was 32 per 100,000, while the non-veteran suicide rate was 17.2 per 100,000. Though the mental health devices provided by the VA are of higher-quality than typical care provided, the report states the rate of suicide among VHA patients with a mental health or substance use disorder diagnosis was more than double the rate among those without these diagnoses. 

There are currently over 300,000 veterans living in Wisconsin, accounting for more than 7% of the state’s population, The Center Square reports.