AFA Urges Halt to Downsizing of Military Hospitals and Clinics

AFA, as a member of The Military Coalition, is urging the leadership of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees’ Personnel subcommittees to include a provision in the FY21 NDAA halting military treatment facility restructuring and military medical billet cuts.

A letter to Chairman Tillis, Ranking Member Gillibrand, Chairwoman Speier and Ranking Member Kelly stated:

“The Military Coalition (TMC), a consortium of organizations representing 5.5 million service members, veterans, their families and survivors, urges you to include a provision in the FY21 NDAA to halt planned downsizing of military hospitals and clinics. Military treatment facility (MTF) restructuring directed by the FY17 NDAA and medical billet cuts proposed in the FY21 DoD budget are based on outdated assessments of military medical end strength requirements. The COVID-19 pandemic demands medical readiness requirements be reassessed and updated with lessons learned from the whole of nation response to the coronavirus emergency.

The Defense Health Agency (DHA) has assured beneficiaries all plans to reduce MTF capacity have been paused, but that is not enough. Even before COVID-19, there were concerns about DHA’s analysis and mitigation planning for beneficiary care moved out of MTFs due to medical billet reductions and MTF downsizing.”

An AFA op-ed regarding this issue ran in the Mar. 31 issue of Air Force Times.