There are big changes happening in military healthcare procurement. Some are unsurprising given the October 1, 2019 deadline for the reorganization of all military hospitals and clinics under the management of the Department of Defense (DOD), Defense Health Agency (DHA). But some may be unexpected, reaching all the way to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) procurement, though the extent to which the VA will ultimately be affected is unclear. In the past few weeks, at least three major announcements were made regarding military healthcare: (1) DHA and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) regarding their respective rolls in DOD healthcare, (2) DLA gave the VA access to its medical/surgical prime vendor formulary indefinitely, and (3) the VA cancelled its long-anticipated prime vendor solicitation under the Medical/Surgical Prime Vendor (MSPV) 2.0 program. Is this all a coincidence? Probably not.
Continue Reading What’s the VA Got to Do With It? Military Medical Procurement Changes Reach the VA

The U.S. Department of Defense (“DOD”) claims that fraud and abuse is inhibiting the ability of the Defense Health Agency (“DHA”), the agency responsible for administering TRICARE, to support and deliver “integrated, affordable, and high quality health service to all DOD beneficiaries” and to be “a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars.” Noting that the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has limited resources to prosecute those who commit fraud and abuse against the TRICARE program, the DOD now seeks to step in and ramp up enforcement.
Continue Reading The Military Health Care Fraud and Abuse Prevention Program: The Department of Defense Issues Proposed Regulations regarding TRICARE and Civil Monetary Penalties