{"id":70147,"date":"2023-12-06T22:49:27","date_gmt":"2023-12-06T22:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/12\/06\/dod-watchdog-report-warns-of-issues-across-military-health-care-system\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:33:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:33:41","slug":"dod-watchdog-report-warns-of-issues-across-military-health-care-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/12\/06\/dod-watchdog-report-warns-of-issues-across-military-health-care-system\/","title":{"rendered":"DOD watchdog report warns of issues across military health care system"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Editor\u2019s note: Have problems in the military health care system recently affected you or your family? Email <\/i><a href=\"mailto:geoffz@militarytimes.com\" target=\"_blank\"><i>geoffz@militarytimes.com<\/i><\/a><i> to share your thoughts.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A new Defense Department watchdog report raises troubling red flags about the state of military health care for the 9.6 million uniformed and civilian employees, contractors, veterans and family members who depend on the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beneficiaries around the globe are grappling with provider shortages, subpar network options and long wait times, the Pentagon inspector general said in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dodig.mil\/reports.html\/Article\/3602650\/management-advisory-concerns-with-access-to-care-and-staffing-shortages-in-the\/\" target=\"_blank\">Nov. 29 report<\/a>.<b> <\/b>The publication compiled trends that watchdogs in each military branch have uncovered in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chief among the issues is the challenges troops and their families face when trying to access health care at military treatment facilities in the United States and overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Service members consistently ranked medical care as a top cause of dissatisfaction during a series of focus groups conducted by the Office of the Naval Inspector General in 2023, according to the report. They protested their inability to access care in a timely manner for everything from routine primary care visits to mental health appointments.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/military-benefits\/health-care\/2023\/06\/08\/pregnant-women-at-kadena-air-base-in-japan-facing-tough-decisions\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"254\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Naval-Hospital-Okinawa-first-baby-in-2015.1000w_q95.webp_.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Pregnant women at Kadena Air Base in Japan facing tough decisions<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A staffing shortage at U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa means pregnant women at Kadena Air Base may have to fly home to deliver.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those issues were particularly acute \u201cin locations that are either small, remote or [that] recently downsized from a hospital to a clinic,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Navy noted that sailors and their families struggled to find care near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii; Naval Air Station Lemoore, California; NAS Whidbey Island, Washington; and NAS Pensacola, Florida, often due to a shortage of military medical facilities and local in-network providers, the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSmall [military medical facilities] often only serve active duty service members and send all other beneficiaries, such as family members and retirees, to the TRICARE provider network,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But while some must rely on TRICARE\u2019s network of doctors and specialists, the DOD IG report warned that \u201csome TRICARE networks are not robust or adequate to meet this need and beneficiaries may have difficulty obtaining network care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At Naval Health Clinic Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, specialty care is limited. Only active duty troops may enroll at the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This means beneficiaries are shunted onto a civilian provider network with just one Level 1 trauma center, and that lacks available appointments for specialties like gastroenterology, psychiatry and urology within a DOD-prescribed 28-day window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At California\u2019s Naval Hospital Lemoore and Naval Health Clinic Fallon, network referrals have jumped 34% in the past three years, but it takes 36 days on average to snag an appointment in the network, the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2023\/01\/30\/military-must-find-new-ways-to-deal-with-medical-personnel-shortages\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5625429.jpg_f7f990.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Military must find new ways to deal with medical personnel shortages<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">More virtual health care is likely to be an option.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Department of the Air Force Inspector General also reported complaints about network access in smaller markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both the Air Force and Navy IGs pointed to a lack of medical providers willing to accept TRICARE \u2014 the global health insurance program for troops, retirees&nbsp;and their families \u2014 and a general lack of specialty providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overseas, the Marines are facing health care issues in Okinawa, Japan, where patients struggled to see doctors for everything from obstetrics to physical therapy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At one point on June 7, the chief Air Force medical officer at the 18th Medical Group at Kadena Air Base, Japan, warned that Kadena\u2019s pregnant patients would need to deliver their babies at a Japanese hospital or be flown to a stateside military medical facility, due to staffing shortages that were expected to be resolved by the end of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Defense Health Agency responded in a June 8 memo that the Navy hospital in Okinawa could provide \u201cfull labor and delivery services for all beneficiaries in the [U.S. Indo-Pacific Command] area of responsibility.\u201d The Air Force retracted its warning the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The DOD inspector general has also begun receiving complaints about MHS Genesis, the Pentagon\u2019s new electronic health records system. Appointment wait times have stretched to several months since the system started rolling out in 2017, frustrating some beneficiaries to the point of paying out of pocket for off-base care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Military officials, recruiters and lawmakers have also cited <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2023\/04\/10\/the-genesis-of-todays-recruiting-crisis\/\" target=\"_blank\">Genesis <\/a>as a key contributor to the nation\u2019s ongoing recruiting crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2023\/04\/10\/the-genesis-of-todays-recruiting-crisis\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Air-Recruiting_Marine.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">The \u2018Genesis\u2019 of today\u2019s recruiting crisis<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Leaders blame various factors for the recruiting crisis. But some recruiters on the front lines say one big cause is missing from the conversation.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Staffing shortages have also plagued each service. The Naval IG predicted that more than 36% of family medicine billets at stateside military treatment facilities would be vacant by summer 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Navy does not have enough active duty family medicine physicians to meet current requirements due to unprecedented attrition and new operational requirements,\u201d the DOD IG report stated. \u201cThe Naval IG also provided data from [the Navy\u2019s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery] showing that clinic staffing at many [military treatment facilities] has been reduced over the last 5 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Military medical members told investigators earlier this year that general surgeons are unevenly distributed at different facilities, leading to a glut of surgeons at one location and a lack of them at another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe complainant stated that general surgeons at a large military medical facility with a surplus of surgeons have significantly less work than those at other facilities, and this misallocation led to understaffed [facilities] not being able to provide appropriate health care to their beneficiaries,\u201d the IG report stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For instance, one emergency department at an unidentified \u201clarge military medical center\u201d was operating with 50% staff, the report said. Some officials have cited burnout as one reason behind a wave of resignations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, the report argues that providing timely access to mental health services continues to be a challenge for the military medical system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the Army side, a 2020 assessment revealed that soldiers stationed in South Korea \u201cidentified limited access to health care as one of the factors that contributes to suicidal behavior,\u201d according to the DOD IG. Service members noted that it took them six weeks to be seen by a medical provider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Defense Health Agency, the Pentagon entity tasked with managing military health care, did not respond to the watchdog\u2019s recommendations ahead of the report\u2019s publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDespite being provided an opportunity to respond to the report and an extension of the original due date, the director of the Defense Health Agency did not respond to the recommendations in the report,\u201d the report said. \u201cTherefore, the recommendations are unresolved.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A lack of timely access to military health care plagues each of the services, according to a new Pentagon inspector general report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":108050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":69,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,12,25,69],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3365],"class_list":["post-70147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-marine-corps"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"NHRAN6VN4FEONIC45WBD6RZWLI","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2023\/12\/07\/dod-watchdog-report-warns-of-issues-across-military-health-care-system\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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