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The COMPACT Act

By Chris Klug, Public Affairs Specialist

The COMPACT Act allows Veterans in suicidal crisis to go to any VA or community health care facility for free emergency mental health care – including transportation costs, inpatient or crisis residential care for up to 30 days, and outpatient care for up to 90 days, including social work.

The COMPACT Act’s goal is to increase access to acute suicide care to an additional 9 million unenrolled Veterans and reduce the number of Veteran suicides by offering immediate care when they are at their most vulnerable.

Eligible individuals, regardless of VA enrollment status, are:

  • Those who were discharged or released from active duty after more than 24 months of active service under conditions other than dishonorable.
  • Former members of the armed forces, including reserve service members, who served more than 100 days under a combat exclusion or in support of a contingency operation either directly or by operating an unmanned aerial vehicle from another location who were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.
  • Former members of the armed forces who were the victim of a physical assault of a sexual nature, a battery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment while serving in the armed forces.

Important: Veterans do not need to be enrolled for health care at the VA to benefit from the COMPACT Act. Any Veteran diagnosed as being in acute suicidal crisis who meets the military service eligibility criteria is eligible for COMPACT-related care and treatment provided or paid for by VA, regardless of their enrollment status.

If you are a Veteran in crisis, VA is here for you and wants to ensure you seek care without worrying that you will receive a bill. We at VA want all Veterans and former service members to know that they can get the emergency suicide care they need, when they need it, no matter where they are. Should a Veteran receive a bill after receiving emergency care during or after a suicidal crisis, VA has established an expedited review process to ensure costs are handled appropriately, whether the cost originates from a VA medical center or non-VA facility.

VA medical facility bill:

  • Call the number on your bill or contact your local patient advocate and ask for a clinical review with an appropriate provider.

Non-VA facility bill:

  • Submit a signed VA Form 10-583 Claim for Payment of Cost of Unauthorized Medical Services to your local VA facility.
  • Include an after-visit summary/medical documentation.
  • Include a billing statement from the provider showing the diagnosis code information and itemized list of charges.

This is a tremendous opportunity for Cincinnati VA Medical Center to save lives. Talk to your friends and family about the COMPACT Act and what it means for Veterans. There are Veterans who need impactful conversations with trusted sources. Saving a Veteran from suicide can start with you.