department of defense agency financial report fiscal year 2012

Department of Defense Agency Financial Report for FY 2012
Increasing health care benefits also provides additional pressure to manage and contain
costs.
5-2B. Cost Containment IG Assessment of Progress
The Department’s efforts in controlling health care costs will continue to be a challenge
as early indications are that DoD beneficiary fee increases are not likely to be fully
approved. The MHS is focusing on many areas to manage per capita health care costs.
Three managed care support contracts are in effect; however, award protests resulted in
staggered implementation of the new generation TRICARE contracts. The contracts
provide incentives for customer satisfaction and include the managed-care support
contractors as partners in support of medical readiness. The Department continues to
examine how the MHS purchases health care from the private sector. The guiding
principle of the study group is that high-quality; patient-centered care is also costefficient
care.
The Department has identified areas that assist in managing costs, to include fraud
management, and pharmaceuticals. Implementing the Quadruple Aim Concept should
simultaneously improve quality and reduce costs by focusing on the elimination of
unnecessary care, tests, and procedures, and by focusing on delivering health care in
the most appropriate setting. Additionally, the MHS identified optimization of the
pharmacy practices and implementation of the patient-centered medical home as
strategic initiatives, both of which are aimed at increasing the quality of health care
services while reducing the cost of providing high quality care.
5-2C. Cost Containment Department Response
The Department concurs with the IG's assessment.
5-3A. Rehabilitation and Transition Care IG Summary of Challenge
The continued strengthening of comprehensive and integrated health care – from
accession through active service, to rehabilitation, and when necessary, the transition to
the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) – is a major challenge for the MHS. In
particular, the Department will need to remain focused for future years with providing
adequate rehabilitation and transition care for wounded warriors associated with
Southwest Asia and other such conflicts.
Key areas requiring management attention also include rehabilitation and transition care
for those affected with Traumatic Brain Injury, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and
those in need of prosthetic services.
Although a number of objectives have been identified by the Department and the VA
and programs have been initiated, the quality and oversight of these programs must be
tightly managed. The Department should continue to strive to make the medical care
and benefits transition program a streamlined, transparent, and timely process as
wounded warriors move from the DoD system to the VA system.
5-3B. Rehabilitation and Transition Care IG Assessment of Progress
During this past year, the DoD IG has noted the need to provide timely access to
specialty care, improvements in various training programs and plans, as well as
improving medication management. While challenges remain, the DoD IG has identified
notable initiatives within the Department for supporting the comprehensive care,
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Addendum A