“If spending priorities tell what’s important to an organization, then the Military Health System ranks pretty low. That’s the contention of Dan Grazier, a former Marine Corps tank commander, now a military analyst at the Project on Government Oversight. He said none of the items on the Defense Department’s unfunded priorities list included anything health related. He joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for more discussion.”
“Tom Temin: Yes, you’ve cited some of the big reports from the DoD and so on. And that was my next question: Is there evidence that the quality of care or the capacity to take care of wounded soldiers, wounded service members, has been affected by the spending trends?…”
“Tom Temin: Now the Veterans Affairs Department has been working to try to increase salaries for certain medical classifications, the so-called Title 38 people that are not subject to the limits of Title 5 federal employees. I think there’s some movement on that recently. Is there a special pay program or retention bonuses, or what does the military do to try to retain the people that it needs in the health system?…”
“Tom Temin: We’re speaking with Dan Grazier, he is now a military analyst at the Project on Government Oversight. And could one reason for the military not being willing to put their neck out for spending on the health system be the rising health costs that they have for the people going through that system? I think as far back as Secretary Robert Gates said, you know, the health costs are eating us alive, and it’s a very expensive part of the military budget – the people side. So could that be what is robbing the hardware software provider side, if you will, for the Military Health System?…”
Listen or read the transcript here.
Source: Could the Pentagon be putting more money towards its health system? – By Tom Temin, June 11, 2020. Federal News Network.
