This bill requires the Secretary of Defense to create a digital system for people who get care at military medical treatment facilities to file and track complaints about access to care. The system must let covered beneficiaries file complaints online, view the complaint status at any time, send complaints promptly to a Department of Defense patient advocate, and automatically aggregate complaints for the Director of the Defense Health Agency each quarter. The Secretary must set up the system within 18 months of enactment. The bill also requires an annual report, due each March 1 after the system is in place, that lists the total number of complaints and, for each facility with complaints, identifies the most common access complaints, compares specialty vs. primary care complaints, compares pediatric vs. non-pediatric complaints, compares administrative hurdles vs. other access issues, and summarizes steps the facility took to reduce complaints. The bill defines a "covered beneficiary" as someone enrolled in TRICARE and eligible for care at a military medical treatment facility.
If you are a covered beneficiary (enrolled in TRICARE and eligible for care at a military medical treatment facility), the bill would give you an option to submit access-to-care complaints online and to check the status of your complaint. Complaints would be routed to a Department of Defense patient advocate and counted in facility-level reports sent to the Defense Health Agency and to Congress each year.
No publicly available information.
The bill text and title show that the sponsors want the Secretary of Defense to establish a digital complaint and reporting system for access issues at military medical treatment facilities and to provide regular, facility-level reporting to congressional Armed Services committees. The bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Horsford with multiple cosponsors.
No publicly available information.