The Veterans Access-to-Care Bill passed earlier this week and will create a state committee appointed by the Alabama Department of Mental Health and the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs to review best practices for providing mental health and addiction treatment. The bill differs significantly from the original bill advocated by numerous veterans’ service organizations throughout the state that would have authorized the ADVA to establish a separate healthcare system for the state’s nearly 400,000 veterans and their families. Black Flag Communications provided government relations, educational and advocacy work on behalf of the bill.
Scott Rye, director of Black Flag, described passage of the bill “a hollow victory.”