Defense Health Care: DOD has Established a Chiropractic Benefit  
for Active Duty Personnel (06-SEP-05, GAO-05-890R).		 
                                                                 
The Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2001 (NDAA 2001) directed the Department of Defense (DOD) to
develop and implement a plan to make a chiropractic benefit	 
available to all active duty personnel in the U.S. armed forces. 
The practice of chiropractic focuses on the relationship between 
structure (primarily, the spine) and function (as coordinated by 
the nervous system) and how that relationship affects the	 
preservation and restoration of health. In August 2001, DOD	 
submitted to Congress an implementation plan that described how  
it planned to develop a chiropractic benefit within the military 
health system. The plan addressed patient eligibility, access to 
care, the location of chiropractic clinics, projected costs,	 
staffing, and the marketing and monitoring of the benefit. The	 
NDAA 2001 directed DOD to develop the implementation plan in	 
consultation with the Oversight Advisory Committee (OAC), which  
was established by the National Defense Authorization Act for	 
Fiscal Year 1995 (NDAA 1995). The OAC was directed by the NDAA	 
1995 to oversee a 3-year DOD chiropractic demonstration project  
at no fewer than 10 military treatment facilities (MTF). The NDAA
1995 directed that the OAC include the Assistant Secretary of	 
Defense for Health Affairs; the Surgeons General of the Army, the
Air Force, and the Navy; and at least four representatives of the
chiropractic profession; and also directed that we serve as a	 
member of the OAC. As a member of the OAC, we attended meetings  
of the OAC and provided technical input and advice. The NDAA 2001
also mandated that we monitor the development and implementation 
of DOD's chiropractic health care plan. As agreed with the	 
committees of jurisdiction, we reviewed the implementation of	 
DOD's chiropractic benefit.					 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-05-890R					        
    ACCNO:   A35682						        
  TITLE:     Defense Health Care: DOD has Established a Chiropractic  
Benefit for Active Duty Personnel				 
     DATE:   09/06/2005 
  SUBJECT:   Health care planning				 
	     Health care programs				 
	     Health care services				 
	     Military personnel 				 
	     Program evaluation 				 
	     Eligibility criteria				 
	     Marketing						 
	     Monitoring 					 
	     DOD TRICARE Program				 

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