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6-1-2012

House Panel Reviews Military, VA Mental Health Programs

FRA staff attended a recent meeting of the Congressional Military Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Caucus to discuss current mental health programs. Experts from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Veterans Administration spoke about the ongoing mental health crisis in the military and what is being done to address it. The bipartisan caucus, co-chaired by Representatives Tim Murphy (Penn.) and Grace Napolitano (Calif.), serves as an informal group of lawmakers who are dedicated to discussing, understanding, and advancing military mental health and suicide prevention efforts. Click here to learn more about the Caucus.

In related news the Medical Surveillance Monthly Report (MSMR) for April 2012 indicated that the single biggest diagnosis category for which active duty service members are hospitalized is mental disorders (21.9%).  In 2011 there were more hospitalizations for mental disorders than any other category (14.9%), which was an increase over 2007 (10.1%) and 2009 (10.4 %). FRA has repeatedly highlighted this issue in testimony and in discussions with legislators and their staff.