Before entering into any new contract for pharmacy services next fall, the Defense Department should evaluate potential costs and benefits of alterative means to provide prescription medications, the chief government watchdog agency said in a Sept. 30 report to Congress. "Alternative structures can include incorporating all pharmacy services into the managed care support contracts — a carve-in structure — or a structure that incorporates certain components of DoD’s pharmacy services, such as the mail-order pharmacy, into the managed care support contracts while maintaining a separate contract for other components," stated the Government Accountability Agency (GAO) report. Such a study should focus on lessons learned, and providing evidence to support the choices included in any new arrangement between the TRICARE, the military’s managed-care agency, and commercial pharmacy providers. "Without this type of evaluation, DOD cannot effectively demonstrate that it has chosen the most appropriate contract structure in terms of costs to the government and services for beneficiaries," the report said. The Defense Department is weighing the GAO recommendations and will provide a response once the internal review is complete.
