U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack introduced a bill Wednesday in the House of Representatives aimed at ensuring veterans have access to inpatient mental health care at Veterans Affairs hospitals.
Loebsack, D-Iowa City, alongside Republican Congressman Steve Stivers of Ohio, proposed the Never Again Act in response to Sgt. Brandon Ketchum’s suicide in July, according to a news release from Loebsack’s office. Ketchum, a Bettendorf veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said in a Facebook post hours before his death that the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Health Care System denied him inpatient treatment while he was in crisis and requesting a bed.
“Simply put, under the Never Again Act, if a veteran asks for mental health care from the VA, they will get it,” the release says.