Veteran Policy Insights

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There has been a resurgence of interest in the use of psychedelics to address a variety of mental health conditions that are common among veterans. Given the rapidly evolving legal and policy landscape surrounding their use and supply, RAND researchers argue that VA should consider issuing guidance for patients and clinicians. Join us for a webinar exploring this topic on Thursday, January 19.

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Psychedelic Therapy and Veterans' Mental Health: The Evolving Legal and Policy Landscape in the United States

 

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VA's fiscal year 2023 budget of $303.8 billion is the department's largest ever. It includes a 25% boost in funding for its Homeless Prevention Program, and the administration announced plans to reduce the number of unhoused people in the United States by 25% over the next two years. However, Sarah B. Hunter, director of the RAND Center on Housing and Homelessness in Los Angeles, raised concerns about slow progress in developing permanent supportive housing for veterans at VA's West Los Angeles campus.

Housing instability is an equity issue with deep roots, and RAND research has shown that Black veterans struggle more financially than White veterans. As our colleague Jessica Welburn Paige points out, differences in home ownership rates and home values between Black and White Americans are significant contributors to the persistent, generational racial wealth gap.

 

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We are pleased to welcome Heather Salazar as RAND's new legislative and government affairs analyst in veteran policy. She joins us after three years at the Congressional Research Service. Heather will be working with us to identify veterans' issues that are priorities for Congress, VA, and the White House and to connect policymakers with RAND research.

The following are some key developments in late 2022 that are likely to affect our work in 2023:

• August – President Biden signed into law the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our PACT Act, expanding benefits and health care for certain Vietnam-era, Gulf War-era, and post-9/11 veterans.
• December – VA published a final rule for Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) that launched on January 1.
• December – VA began processing claims under the PACT Act early for terminally ill veterans, beginning to process all other PACT Act claims January 1, 2023.
• December – President Biden signed the omnibus spending bill for FY 2023 with significant increases in funding for VA, including a 22.4% increase for health care, a 35% increase for caregiver support programs, and $15 million for VA's Airborne Hazards and Burn Pits Center of Excellence.

 

• Rajeev Ramchand, Carrie Farmer, and Heather Salazar explored the decision to drop the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for service members and what that means for unvaccinated veterans who had opted to leave the military.
• Kayla Williams reviewed Travis Martin's Homecoming: Veteran Identity and the Post-9/11 Generation.
• Across the pond, RAND Europe and King's College London have launched the Forces in Mind Trust Research Centre. With funding from the nonprofit Forces in Mind Trust, the consortium will serve as a research hub, disseminate news, and host events on issues affecting veterans and their families in the UK and elsewhere.
• Stephanie Brooks Holliday was quoted in an article about recent RAND research on Black veterans' well-being.