WASHINGTON — The American Psychological Association has called on the Department of Defense and Congress to address serious gaps in the military’s mental health care system revealed in a report from the DoD Office of the Inspector General.
In the reportopens in new window, inspectors noted that 53% of service members and their families who were referred to TRICARE, the military’s purchased care network, for a mental health appointment never received that appointment, and the department did not know why. The report also found that seven of 13 military treatment facilities or their associated TRICARE networks did not meet the access standard for specialty care—at most a 28-day wait time—over the six-month review. Five of the remaining six only met access standards during one of the six months.
“These figures are shocking. A 28-day wait time is not an acceptable standard; not being able to meet such a lax standard makes it even more objectionable,” APA CEO Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, wrote in a letter (PDF, 128KB)opens in new window to U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper. “It is unthinkable that DoD would continue to allow so many to fall through the cracks.”
In the letter, APA laid out several suggestions to address these gaps, including:
- Develop a system-wide staffing plan and require that TRICARE providers adhere to the same standardized psychotherapy follow-up assessments in place in the Defense Health Agency, as outlined in the OIG report’s recommendations.
- Help ensure that there are enough mental health care providers in the TRICARE network by appropriately reimbursing psychologists and bringing parity to reimbursements for telehealth services.
- Strengthen and maintain a strong in-house Military Health System by continuing to robustly fund the Uniformed Services University and maintain medical billets.
APA also sent a letter (PDF, 121KB)opens in new window to the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees offering parallel suggestions. That letter encouraged the committees to conduct stringent oversight of DoD’s failure to provide access to timely mental health care; to examine the TRICARE network’s reimbursement rates to ensure mental health providers are reimbursed appropriately and to correct the disparity between in-person and telehealth reimbursement; and to continue oversight of the transition of military treatment facilities to the Defense Health Agency and ensure that the in-house mental health provider pipeline at the Uniformed Services University is protected.
“APA encourages your committees to ensure these recommendations move from unresolved to resolved,” Evans wrote. “Failing to provide timely, appropriate behavioral health care to our nation’s service members and their families not only negatively impacts individual soldiers, but also hurts military readiness as a whole.”