Defense Health Care: US Family Health Plan is Duplicative and Should be Eliminated

摘要

The USFHP is a statutorily required component of the MHS that offers the TRICARE Prime option to eligible military beneficiaries through 6 designated providers in certain locations across the country.14 Over the years, the number of designated providers has dropped from 10 to 6. The 6 USFHP designated providers that currently administer the USFHP are: (1) Johns Hopkins Medical Services Co., (2) Brighton Marine Health Center, (3) Martin s Point Health Care, (4) CHRISTUS Health, (5) Pacific Medical Centers, and (6) St. Vincents Catholic Medical Centers. (See appendix I for a comparison of USFHP designated providers in 1994 and 2014.) The reduction in designated providers has largely been due to provider consolidations.15 In one case, a designated provider opted to no longer participate in the program.16According to DOD officials, USFHP enrollees for that designated provider were successfully transitioned to other health care programs for which they were eligible, including the TRICARE options administered by the TRICARE MCSC in that region. Some of the designated providers provide care exclusively to beneficiaries enrolled in the USFHP, while others also provide health care services to beneficiaries of other health plans and may have additional lines of business.