The US Military Health System: Promoting Readiness And Providing Health Care.

The US Military Health System (MHS) is a unique federal health care system with a critical mission: ensuring that America's military personnel are healthy; maintaining a ready medical force in support of operational forces around the world; and delivering a medical benefit to approximately 9.5 million beneficiaries. This article provides an overview of how the MHS relies upon the TRICARE program to deliver both direct care (delivered in military treatment facilities) and purchased care (delivered by network providers). The article also describes the history and evolution of the TRICARE program, presents information on the populations served and the volume and type of care rendered, and examines access and quality issues. Furthermore, it describes recent policy and operational changes that have influenced how the MHS delivers health care, placing these changes in the context of other challenges facing the US health care system.