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The Defense Department is taking a four-pronged approach to improve military hospitals and clinics following a drop in patient load that has caused providers' skills to deteriorate. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Lester Martinez-Lopez said Tuesday that, with roughly 60% of Defense Department medical care now provided through the civilian Tricare network, the DoD is working to attract staff and bring back patients. (Kime, 7/31)

Senate conservatives are showing early resistance to expediting legislation to address a roughly $3 billion budget shortfall for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), as officials warn millions of veterans’ benefits are at risk in the coming weeks. Some senators had been hopeful of passing the bipartisan bill this week amid growing concern over the shortfall. However, the effort is getting pushback from some conservatives, as Republicans have raised scrutiny over the issue. (Folley, 7/31)

Out-of-pocket costs for mental health care appointments for patients in the military health care system would be capped under a bill introduced in Congress on Wednesday. Under the Stop Copay Overpay Act, Tricare users' out-of-pocket fees for outpatient behavioral and mental health visits would not be allowed to cost more than those for primary care visits. The limitation could cut patients' costs by an average of 48%, according to a news release from the office of Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., one of the bill's sponsors. (Kheel, 7/31)

Members of the military's combat specialties experienced higher suicide rates than other troops -- and the broader American public -- in the waning years of the War on Terror, according to numbers delivered by the Pentagon to Congress this month. The worst-hit jobs included career fields with high operational tempo and occupational exposure to explosions. Between 2011 and 2021, the enlisted job groupings with the highest suicide rates were armored and amphibious vehicle crew members, infantry, combat engineers, explosive ordnance disposal and divers, combat operations control troops, and artillerymen assigned to both guns and rocket units, according to the data. All of those specialties saw suicide rates at least 50% higher than the general population during that period. (Winkie, 7/31)

It’s a pivotal moment: By August 11, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to make a landmark decision on whether to approve MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD. Supporters may face an uphill battle. In June, a panel of advisors to the FDA poked holes in the research from the drugmaker Lykos Therapeutics and voted overwhelmingly to reject the evidence. (Stone, 8/1)