Reason for Hope and VMHLC Chief Science Officer Provides Written Testimony in Support of VHA Novel Therapeutics Preparedness Act
- 12 hours ago
- 1 min read
Dr. Lynnette Averill, Chief Science Officer of Reason for Hope and VMHLC, submitted written testimony before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs in support of S. 4220, the Veterans Health Administration Novel Therapeutics Preparedness Act. Dr. Averill, who left the VA in 2025, provided insight from over 20 years of experience delivering care across various settings within the VA system.
Her message is clear: approval of novel therapies alone does not equal access. When the first psychedelic therapy is approved, only a handful of VA sites are expected to be ready. Veterans cannot afford another esketamine/ketamine rollout, where the most recent data suggests fewer than 1,900 Veterans were treated across the entire VA system in a single year.
"Without system level reforms to strengthen proactive planning and provide clear implementation authority for truly transformative approaches, the VA risks repeating a familiar pattern: promising treatments are approved, but Veterans wait years before they are meaningfully accessible."
S. 4220 proposes significant system-level changes.
