Office of the Secretary November 20, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice is to advise interested parties of a Military Health System (MHS) demonstration project entitled TRICARE Provider Reimbursement Demonstration Project for the State of Alaska. The delivery of health care services in the State of Alaska represents a unique situation that cannot be addressed fully by strictly applying the same reimbursement rules that apply to TRICARE programs in the other 49 states without some modification. Typically, provider payments are the same as under Medicare, unless the Department has taken specific action to increase payment rates in response to a particular, severe access problem in a location. Under this demonstration, payment rates for physicians and other non-institutional individual professional providers in the State of Alaska will be set at a rate higher than the Medicare rate. The demonstration project will test the effect of this change on provider participation in TRICARE, beneficiary access to care, cost of health care services, military medical readiness, morale and welfare. In particular, the demonstration will test whether the increased costs of provider payments are offset in whole or part by savings in travel costs, lost duty time, and other factors. This demonstration will be conducted under statutory authority provided in 10 U.S.C. 1092.

Pursuant to Section 10(a), Public Law 92-463, as amended, notice is hereby given of a forthcoming meeting of the Defense Department Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS). The purpose of the Committee meeting is to introduce new members and conduct orientation training. The meeting is open to the public, subject to the availability of space. Interested persons may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and make an oral presentation of such. Persons desiring to make an oral presentation or submit a written statement to the Committee must notify the point of contact listed below no later than 5 p.m., 27 November 2006. Oral presentations by members of the public will be permitted only on Monday, 4 December 2006 from 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. before the full Committee. Presentations will be limited to two minutes. Number of oral presentations to be made will depend on the number of requests received from members of the public. Each person desiring to make an oral presentation must provide the point of contact listed below with one (1) copy of the presentation by 5 p.m., 1 December 2006 and bring 35 copies of any material that is intended for distribution at the meeting. Persons submitting a written statement must submit 35 copies of the statement to the DACOWITS staff by 5 p.m. on 1 December 2006.