This bill would change title 10, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Defense to post certain appointment and referral data on a Department of Defense website and include that data in the annual TRICARE Program Evaluation Report. The required data are: the core performance metrics adopted under section 728 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017; the average number of days between the date an individual books an appointment at a military medical treatment facility and the date of that appointment; and the percentage of referrals to another health care facility that are made within one business day after the individual first contacted the military medical treatment facility.
If you use TRICARE or book appointments at a military medical treatment facility, the Department of Defense website and the annual TRICARE report would include the listed wait-time and referral timing metrics. The change is meant to make this information a required, published part of the TRICARE Program Evaluation Report.
No publicly available information.
Supporters say service members, veterans, and their families deserve timely, high-quality care. The bill's findings note that the Defense Health Agency voluntarily provided similar wait-time and referral information in the Fiscal Year 2024 TRICARE Program Evaluation Report, and that this information is valuable and should be required by law.
No publicly available information.