“For more than a decade, partially in response to congressional mandates, DoD has worked to address inefficiencies in the Military Health System to control costs. To further achieve efficiencies, the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2017 required DOD to develop an implementation plan that addressed four elements related to transferring the administration of the MTFs to the DHA. DoD issued the plan in June 2018…”
“The Department of Defense’s (DoD) June 2018 plan addressed the four statutory elements for the transfer of the administration of the military treatment facilities (MTFs) from the military departments to the Defense Health Agency (DHA). Specifically, the plan provided information on (1) how the DHA will take administrative responsibility of the MTFs; (2) efforts to eliminate duplicative activities; (3) efforts to maximize efficiencies in the DHA’s activities; and (4) reductions of headquarters-level military, civilian, and contractor personnel. DoD dedicated most of the plan to describing the governance structure of the proposed administrative framework and to describing the timeline for a phased transfer of the approximately 457 MTFs to the DHA by October 1, 2021. Initially, DoD was to transfer responsibility for the administration of the MTFs to the DHA by October 1, 2018. However, Congress in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019 amended the law to allow, among other things, DoD to complete the transfer by September 30, 2021…”
“GAO recommends that DoD define and analyze the 16 operational readiness and installation-specific medical functions for duplication, validate headquarters-level personnel requirements, and identify the least costly mix of personnel. DoD concurred with all three recommendations and noted actions it was taking to address each one.” Read the full report here.
Source: Defense Health Care: DoD Should Demonstrate How Its Plan to Transfer the Administration of Military Treatment Facilities Will Improve Efficiency – October 30, 2018. GAO.gov.
