Military Health Care System: Comparing Orthopedic Costs Between A MilitaryTreatment Facility and CHAMPUS

摘要

For more than three decades, two systems have provided healthcare for militarybeneficiaries: (1) the direct care system, whereby beneficiaries obtain health care services from military treatment facilities (MTFs), and (2) the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS). a health program in which beneficiaries receive care from civilian providers. The rising cost to the Department of Defense (DoD) of supplying quality medical care in a constrained financial environment has prompted many suggestions for reforming the military health care system. The objective of this research is to compare costs between a military treatment facility and CHAMPUS and to determine whether a given MTF can provide inpatient care to its beneficiaries at lower cost than through CHAMPUS. By comparing MTF and CHAMPUS costs, a given MTF can identify those specialty areas in which to reduce costs either by increasing workload (CHAMPUS recapture) or increasing referrals to health care providers outside the MTF.