The Missoulian: Tester introduces legislation to improve care for vets

Sen. Jon Tester introduced legislation last week to improve the quality of care for veterans and to strengthen the Department of Veterans Affairs’ mental health and telemedicine initiatives.

Tester, D-Mont., is chairman of the Governmental Affairs subcommittee on federal workforce and programs. He introduced the Rural Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act after the group’s first hearing in May.

“I dedicated my first hearing to learning more about the challenges and opportunities facing our rural health initiatives, and this bill is a direct result of that,” Tester said.

The legislation encourages the VA to recruit more licensed professional mental health counselors, as well as marriage and family therapists.