Virtual-Based Opioid Treatment for Veterans Act

H.R. 10037 directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a pilot program that expands access to virtual-based opioid treatment for enrolled veterans. Under the program, the VA must create referral networks for community-based telehealth care, launch a national public awareness campaign, inform VA clinicians about community treatment options, and form an interagency task force with other federal health and justice officials. The bill also requires the VA to study barriers to substance use disorder treatment and report its findings to federal leaders and Congress.

* **Veterans and their families:** Enrolled veterans who need treatment for opioid use disorder, particularly those who face physical or geographical barriers to in-person VA care. * **VA Staff:** Veterans Health Administration (VHA) clinicians and peer-support specialists, who must be educated on community-based telehealth options. * **Community Care Providers:** Licensed, board-certified psychiatric clinicians who meet specific DEA and VA criteria to deliver virtual treatment. * **Federal Agencies:** Officials from the VA, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Defense (DOD), and the Department of Justice's Federal Bureau of Prisons, who must serve on an interagency task force.

If enacted, the bill requires the following timeline and actions: * **Within 180 days of enactment:** The VA **must** establish and launch the pilot program. * **Program Operations:** The VA **must** conduct outreach to veterans and their families, build referral pipelines to community virtual care, run a national awareness campaign, and ensure VA health staff know how to refer veterans to these remote care options. * **Interagency Coordination:** The VA **must** create a task force with leaders from HHS, DOD, and the Bureau of Prisons to integrate efforts across federal agencies. * **Reporting Requirements:** The VA **must** conduct a study on the societal impacts of barriers to substance use disorder care and submit an initial report to agency heads and congressional committees. The VA **must** update this report annually, starting one year after the initial report, until the opioid crisis public health emergency designation ends.

The provided summary does not explicitly state any specific funding allocations, tax provisions, fees, or overall cost figures for creating and operating this pilot program, task force, or public awareness campaign.

* **Eligibility:** The program applies only to "covered veterans"—meaning those who are currently enrolled in the VA health care system. * **Strict Care Criteria:** To qualify as "virtual-based opioid treatment," the care **must**: * Be conducted entirely through telehealth. * Provide both medication-assisted treatment and behavioral counseling from the same clinician in a single visit. * Be delivered by licensed, board-certified psychiatric clinicians holding Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) licenses to prescribe medication-assisted treatment. * Meet VA outcome standards, such as specific rates for patient retention, toxicology compliance, and reduced emergency room visits. * **Program Expiration (Sunset):** The VA's authority to run the pilot program automatically ends 2 years after the law is enacted. However, the VA Secretary **may** extend the program beyond 2 years if the Secretary determines that it successfully improves health outcomes for participating veterans.

This bill requires the VA to run a temporary, 2-year pilot program that connects enrolled veterans to fully remote, community-based telehealth programs for combined medication and counseling for opioid use disorder, supported by public outreach and federal agency coordination.