Department Of Veterans Affairs Extends Community Care Authorization To 12 Months For 30 Specialties, Including Behavioral Health

On August 4, 2025, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it was extending the length of new VA community care authorizations to one year for 30 standardized types of care, including behavioral health. Prior to this change, some VA community care specialty referrals were reevaluated every 90 to 180 days. More frequent reevaluation increased the risk of interrupted or delayed care, according to the announcement.

The longer authorization period applies to the following four behavioral health services: Addiction Psychiatry Outpatient,;Addiction Medicine Outpatient, Family & Couples Psychotherapy Outpatient, and Mental Health Outpatient.

The remaining 26 types of care . . .