Named the Veterans Behavioral Health Bill, the legislation "help[s] Maryland veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars get access to mental health treatment from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs," and if those "services are unavailable or too slow, the state will pay private providers for the services."

The program provides "[c]oordinators hired by the state's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene [to] serve as liaisons between veterans and the federal government," and attempt "to get veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder access to information about behavioral, health and substance-abuse services." It also creates "a Veterans Behavioral Health Advisory Board to identify gaps in services."

Related Links:

- "Md. Offers Vets Back From War Guidance to Mental Health Help," Steve Vogel, Washington Post, June 5, 2008.