Half of U.S. military bases in the country are in ‘health care deserts’

For hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops and their families, erstwhile nan Pentagon orders them to find wellness attraction disconnected base there is none.

An NPR study recovered that 50% of progressive work subject installations guidelines wrong federally designated wellness master shortage areas (HPSA). Those are places wherever aesculapian services are difficult to find — commonly called “health attraction deserts.”

“Military members often don’t person a batch of power complete wherever they’re stationed. Certainly their families don’t,” says Eileen Huck, pinch nan National Military Family Association.

“It’s incumbent connected nan subject to make judge that erstwhile you nonstop a family to a location, nan support and resources are disposable to return attraction of them. And that evidently includes wellness care,” she says.

NPR mapped counties designated arsenic shortage areas for superior care, intelligence wellness attraction and maternity attraction nationwide. Excluding National Guard installations, half nan bases landed wrong astatine slightest 1 desert. Three retired of 4 bases successful superior attraction deserts are besides successful either a intelligence wellness attraction desert, a maternal attraction desert, aliases both. By population, 1 successful 3 U.S. troops and their families unrecorded successful a wellness attraction desert.

Three retired of 4 bases successful superior attraction deserts are besides successful a intelligence wellness attraction desert, a maternal attraction desert, aliases both.

For much than a decade, nan Department of Defense has been trying to realign aesculapian services, bringing nan 4 branches of nan subject under one wellness agency with nan purpose of cutting costs and downsizing subject curen facilities. A large portion was pushing family members distant from curen connected guidelines and retired into nan civilian organization wherever they could usage their Tricare wellness insurance. Troops, families and subject retirees person utilized Tricare for decades, and it erstwhile enjoyed a bully reputation. A joke astir marrying a worker utilized to go, “You had maine astatine Tricare.”

Now nan Pentagon admits nan downsizing has gone excessively far and whitethorn beryllium hurting subject readiness, arsenic good arsenic recruitment, according to a DOD memo titled “Stabilizing and Improving nan Military Health System.” Issues pinch entree to attraction and aesculapian unit shortages connected guidelines person been documented by a DOD Inspector General’s report.

“You do not person a robust surrounding civilian aesculapian care,” says Sean Murphy, who served 44 years, retiring arsenic lawman surgeon wide of nan Air Force. Civilians, he says, are free to take wherever they live. Troops don’t get arsenic overmuch opportunity astir wherever they’re stationed.

“So you’re retired pinch nan remainder of everybody successful nan boonies. And we person benignant of promised nan subject members to person a definite level of attraction nary matter wherever they are, ” he said.

Murphy says civilian wellness attraction is moving connected specified debased profit margins that galore providers can’t spend to return Tricare’s debased reimbursement rates — moreover successful areas that are not wellness attraction deserts. When Murphy retired to North Carolina successful 2021, he had problem himself, getting turned down by 4 doctors earlier he recovered a 5th who would return Tricare.

“I’m nan (former) lawman surgeon wide of nan Air Force!” he said pinch an ironic laugh.

Murphy is concerned that downsizing wellness attraction has wounded subject readiness, leaving American troops little patient and spiraling down nan number of doctors, nurses and battlefield medics trained-up successful nan lawsuit of different war.

Military recruiting has lagged successful caller years, and surveys show that health attraction is simply a increasing concern for subject families. Convincing them to enactment successful nan work whitethorn beryllium harder erstwhile they mightiness beryllium ordered to spell unrecorded successful a wellness attraction desert.

About nan data:

Military guidelines locations came from the Military Installations, Ranges and Training Areas (MIRTA) dataset produced by nan Department of Defense. This information includes DOD sites successful nan U.S., Puerto Rico and Guam that are larger than 10 acres and person a installation replacement worth of astatine slightest $10 million.

Primary attraction and intelligence wellness attraction shortage areas came from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s shortage designations. These wellness master shortage areas (HPSAs) are identified by authorities offices and approved by nan national agency. The shortage areas utilized successful this study were geographic HPSAs, meaning nan shortage is for nan full organization wrong nan designated area. An HPSA nickname takes into relationship recreation clip to nan nearest root of attraction successful summation to different factors.

Maternity attraction shortage areas came from the March of Dimes. The areas utilized successful this study were areas designated arsenic “maternity attraction deserts” aliases areas pinch “low entree to care.”