The policy will backdate to services received beginning in June 2023, and will sunset at the end of 2027, according to a May 29 news release from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The co-pay exemptions are mandated by the Joseph Maxwell Cleland and Robert Joseph Dole Memorial Veterans Benefits and Health Care Improvement Act, passed at the end of 2022.
The VA is also expanding its mental health treatment capacity. The Veterans Health Administration has hired more than 9,000 mental health professionals since 2021, including 2,000 hired in the first half of 2024, according to the news release.
