ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

There is a lot of room for improvement in military medical treatment facilities and programs, the DoD inspector general says in a report tied to the transition of hospitals and clinics away from the services and into the Defense Health Agency.

That transition is already underway, but the effort has stalled because of concerns in the services and Congress about timing.

The apparent rejection by Congress of a joint plea from the services to stop or at least delay a reorganization of military medical assets is a “deep disappointment” for the Army and for beneficiaries, said retired Gen. Carter Ham, president and CEO of the Association of the U.S. Army. 

The Army, Navy and Air Force are fighting to roll back an ongoing military health care transformation and restore service control over hospitals and clinics. 

The service secretaries and service chiefs have asked Defense Secretary Mark Esper to suspend any new efforts to transfer medical facilities, personnel and resources to the Defense Health Agency and undo some of the transfers already made, including giving control of DoD’s flagship hospital, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, back to the Army. 

The Association of the U.S. Army has joined in an effort asking Congress to immediately waive Tricare copayments for mail-order prescriptions.

In a joint letter to Congress, AUSA and other military and veterans’ groups say pharmacies at military treatment facilities are “high-traffic areas” that should be avoided during the global coronavirus pandemic, but the Tricare fee structure discourages beneficiaries from going elsewhere for their prescriptions.

The Army wants to delay further transfer of its major military hospitals to the Defense Health Agency in a move intended to temporarily halt a global merger.

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said he is not opposed to the health care reform effort aimed at increasing efficiencies and standardizing practices across the Defense Department. What does worry him is the timing.

Tricare is now offering 3D mammograms to eligible patients as a preventive health care service when screening for breast cancer—the most diagnosed cancer in women after skin cancers.

The new benefit was available beginning Jan. 1. Previously, Tricare only covered 3D mammograms for diagnostic purposes. This means a doctor could order them for at-risk patients or for further diagnosis. For regular breast cancer screening, Tricare previously covered 2D mammograms, according to information from Tricare.

The transformation of the Military Health System, which includes the Defense Health Agency assuming control of all military treatment facilities, will better serve troops and their families, but the process will not be simple, senior leaders say.

“If we’re successful in what I’m describing, then we’ll be more effective in the way we serve our patients,” Defense Health Agency Director Lt. Gen. Ronald Place said.

He added that DHA recognizes there will be some challenges along the way—but they should decrease over time.

An improved MHS GENESIS—the Defense Department’s new electronic health record—is set to deploy at four more military treatment facilities on Sept. 7, according to Defense Health Agency officials.

“The work that we’ve been doing is working to solve the problems that we’ve found in the record to date,” Air Force Maj. Gen. Lee Payne, MHS GENESIS functional champion and assistant director for combat support at DHA, said during a media roundtable on July 30.

Tobacco use continues to decline in the Army, according to the “2018 Health of the Force” report. Twenty-three percent of soldiers use tobacco products, down from 30% five years ago. Most of the decline comes from fewer smokers, as a steady 11% to 12% of soldiers use smokeless tobacco products.

This is a strong trend toward a healthier Army, the report says. “Using tobacco products negatively impacts Soldier readiness by impairing physical fitness and by increasing illness, absenteeism, premature death, and healthcare costs,” it says.