Military Health System: Sustained Senior Leadership Needed to Fully Develop Plans for Achieving Cost Savings
Abstract
DoD's Military Health System (MHS) costs almost $50 billion annually and that amount is expected to grow to $70 billion by 2028. The MHS governance structure has been the subject of many studies, some recommending major changes. In 2006, DoD considered potential governance structure changes but left its existing structure in place, approving instead a shared-services directorate to consolidate common MHS functions (e.g., shared information-technology services) that ultimately was never developed. In 2012, DoD announced the creation of the Defense Health Agency (DHA) by October 1, 2013, which has seven main goals: (1) consolidate functions (shared services) common to DoD, (2) deliver more-integrated health care in areas with more than one military service, (3) establish more-standardized processes, (4) more-closely align financial incentives with health and readiness outcomes, (5) match other resources with missions, (6) deliver more primary care and other health services, and (7) better coordinate care over time and across treatment settings. Section 731 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 required DoD to provide three submissions in March, June, and September 2013, detailing its plan to reform the MHS. This testimony addresses the additional actions that would increase transparency and enhance accountability of DoD's reform plans. It is based primarily on the following: (1) GAO's November 2013 report that assessed DoD's first two submissions of its reform plans to Congress, and (2) selected updates. For the updates, GAO analyzed DoD's third reform plan and interviewed a DoD representative.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 26, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA594896
Entities
People
- Adam L Smith
- Beckie Beale
- Brenda S. Farrell
- Jeff Heit
- Lori Atkinson
- Mae Jones
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office