DOD Civilian Personnel: Medical Policies for Deployed DOD Federal Civilians and Associated Compensation for Those Deployed
Released: 2007-09-18T00:00:00

Letter

DOD Has Established Force Health Protection and Surveillance Policies for Deployed Federal Civilians, but Should Do More to Ensure That Components Comply with Its Requirements

We reported in 2006 that DOD had established force health protection and surveillance policies aimed at assessing and reducing or preventing health risks for its deployed federal civilian personnel; however, at the time of our review, the department lacked a quality assurance mechanism to ensure the components’ full implementation of its policies. In reviewing DOD federal civilian deployment records and other electronic documentation at selected component locations, we found that these components lacked documentation to show that they had fully complied with DOD’s force health protection and surveillance policy requirements for some federal civilian personnel who deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. As a larger issue, DOD’s policies did not require the centralized collection of data on the identity of its deployed civilians, their movements in theater, or their health status, further hindering its efforts to assess the overall effectiveness of its force health protection and surveillance capabilities. In August 2006, DOD issued a revised policy that became effective in December 2006, outlining procedures to address its lack of centralized deployment and health-related data. However, at the time of our review, the procedures were not comprehensive enough to ensure that DOD would be sufficiently informed of the extent to which its components fully comply with its requirements to monitor the health of deployed federal civilians.

DOD Components Did Not Always Implement All Force Health Protection and Surveillance Requirements

Our 2006 report noted that DOD components included in our review lacked documentation to show that they always implemented force health protection and surveillance requirements for deployed federal civilians. These requirements included completing (1) pre-deployment health assessments to ensure that only medically fit personnel deploy outside of the United States as part of a contingency or combat operation; (2) pre- deployment immunizations to address possible health threats in deployment locations; (3) pre-deployment medical screenings for tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); and (4) post- deployment health assessments to document current health status, experiences, environmental exposures, and health concerns related to their work while deployed.

Pre-deployment Health Assessments

DOD’s force health protection and surveillance policies required the components to assess the medical condition of federal civilians to ensure that only medically fit personnel deploy outside of the United States as part of a contingency or combat operation. At the time of our review, the policies stipulated that all deploying civilian personnel were to complete pre-deployment health assessment forms within 30 days of their deployments, and health care providers were to review the assessments to confirm the civilians’ health readiness status and identify any needs for additional clinical evaluations prior to their deployments.

While the components that we included in our review had procedures in place that would enable them to implement DOD’s pre-deployment health assessment policies, it was not clear to what extent they had done so. Our review of deployment records and other documentation at the selected component locations found that these components lacked documentation to show that some federal civilian personnel who deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq had received the required pre-deployment health assessments. For those deployed federal civilians in our review, we found that, overall, a small number of deployment records (52 out of 3,771) were missing documentation to show that they had received their pre-deployment health assessments, as reflected in table 1.

As shown in table 1, the federal civilian deployment records we included in our review showed wide variation by location regarding documentation of pre-deployment health assessments, ranging from less than 1 percent to more than 90 percent. On an aggregate component-level basis, at the Navy location in our review, we found that documentation was missing for 19 of the 52 records in our review. At the Air Force locations, documentation was missing for 29 of the 37 records in our review. In contrast, all three Army locations had hard copy or electronic records which indicated that almost all of their federal deployed civilians had received pre-deployment health assessments.

Pre-deployment Immunizations

In addition to completing pre-deployment health assessment forms, DOD’s force health protection and surveillance policies stipulated that all DOD deploying federal civilians receive theater-specific immunizations to address possible health threats in deployment locations. Immunizations required for all civilian personnel who deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq included: hepatitis A (two-shot series); tetanus-diphtheria (within 10 years of deployment); smallpox (within 5 years of deployment); typhoid; and influenza (within the last 12 months of deployment).

As reflected in table 2, based on the deployment records maintained by the components at locations included in our review, the overall number of federal civilian deployment records lacking documentation of only one of the required immunizations for deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq was 285 out of 3,771. However, 3,313 of the records we reviewed were missing documentation of two or more immunizations.

At the Army’s Fort Bliss, our review of its electronic deployment data determined that none of its deployed federal civilians had documentation to show that they had received immunizations. Officials at this location stated that they believed some immunizations had been given; however, they could not provide documentation as evidence of this.

Pre-deployment Medical Screenings

DOD policies required deploying federal civilians to receive certain screenings, such as for tuberculosis and HIV. Table 3 indicates that, at the time of our review, 55 of the 3,771 federal civilian deployment records included in our review were lacking documentation of the required tuberculosis screening; and approximately 35 were lacking documentation of HIV screenings prior to deployment.

DOD’s force health protection and surveillance policies also required returning DOD federal civilian personnel to undergo post-deployment health assessments to document current health status, experiences, environmental exposures, and health concerns related to their work while deployed. At the time of our review, the post-deployment process began within 5 days of civilians’ redeployment from the theater to their home or demobilization processing stations. DOD’s policies required civilian personnel to complete a post-deployment assessment that included questions on health and exposure concerns. A health care provider was to review each assessment and recommend additional clinical evaluation or treatment as needed.

As reflected in table 4, our review of deployment records at the selected component locations found that these components lacked documentation to show that most deployed federal civilians (3,525 out of 3,771) who deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq had received the required post- deployment health assessments upon their return to the United States. At the time of our review, federal civilian deployment records lacking evidence of post-deployment health assessments ranged from 3 at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Programs Center and Wright- Patterson Air Force Base, respectively, to 2,977 at Fort Bliss.

Lack of Centralized Deployment Information Hinders the Overall Effectiveness of Force Health Protection and Surveillance for Deployed Federal Civilian Personnel

Beyond the aforementioned weaknesses found in the selected components’ implementation of force health protection and surveillance requirements for deploying federal civilians, as a larger issue, we noted in our 2006 report that DOD lacked comprehensive, centralized data that would enable it to readily identify its deployed civilians, track their movements in theater, or monitor their health status, further hindering efforts to assess the overall effectiveness of its force health protection and surveillance capabilities. The Defense Manpower Data Center is responsible for maintaining the department’s centralized system that currently collects location-specific deployment information for military servicemembers, such as grid coordinates, latitude/longitude coordinates, or geographic location codes. However, at the time of our review, DOD had not taken steps to similarly maintain centralized data on its deployed federal civilians. In addition, DOD had not provided guidance that would require its components to track and report data on the locations and movements of DOD federal civilian personnel in theaters of operations. In the absence of such a requirement, each DOD component collected and reported aggregated data that identified the total number of DOD federal civilian personnel in a theater of operations, but each lacked the ability to gather, analyze, and report information that could be used to specifically identify individuals at risk for occupational and environmental exposures during deployments.

In previously reporting on the military services’ implementation of DOD’s force health protection and surveillance policies in 2003, we highlighted the importance of knowing the identity of servicemembers who deployed during a given operation and of tracking their movements within the theater of operations as major elements of a military medical surveillance system. We further noted the Institute of Medicine’s finding that documentation on the location of units and individuals during a given deployment is important for epidemiological studies and appropriate medical care during and after deployments. For example, this information allows epidemiologists to study the incidences of disease patterns across populations of deployed servicemembers who may have been exposed to diseases and hazards within the theater, and health care professionals to treat their medical problems appropriately. Without location-specific information for all of its deployed federal civilians and centralized data in its department-level system, DOD limits its ability to ensure that sufficient and appropriate consideration will also be given to addressing the health care concerns of these individuals.

At the time of our review, DOD also had not provided guidance to the components that would require them to forward completed deployment health assessments for all federal civilians to the Army Medical Surveillance Activity, where these assessments are supposed to be archived in the Defense Medical Surveillance System, integrated with other historical and current data on personnel and deployments, and used to monitor the health of personnel who participate in deployments. The overall success of deployment force protection and surveillance efforts, in large measure, depends on the completeness of health assessment data. In our report, we noted that the lack of such data may hamper DOD’s ability to intervene in a timely manner to address health care problems that may arise from DOD federal civilian deployments to overseas locations in support of contingency operations.

DOD Has Taken Steps to Address Policy Shortcomings

With increases in the department’s use of federal civilian personnel to support military operations, we noted in our report that DOD officials have recognized the need for more complete and centralized location- specific deployment information and deployment-related health information on its deployed federal civilians. In this regard, we further noted that in August 2006, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness issued revised policy and program guidance that generally addressed the shortcomings in DOD’s force health protection and surveillance capabilities. The revised policy and guidance, that became effective in December 2006, require the components within 3 years, to electronically report (at least weekly) to the Defense Manpower Data Center, location-specific data for all deployed personnel, including federal civilians. In addition, the policy and guidance require the components to submit all completed health assessment forms to the Army Medical Surveillance Activity for inclusion in the Defense Medical Surveillance System.

Nonetheless, in our 2006 report we noted that DOD’s new policy is not comprehensive enough to ensure that the department will be sufficiently informed of the extent to which its components are complying with existing health protection requirements for its deployed federal civilians. Although the policy requires DOD components to report certain location- specific and health data for all of their deployed personnel, including federal civilians, we noted that it does not establish an oversight and quality assurance mechanism for assessing and ensuring the full implementation of the force health protection and surveillance requirements by all DOD components that our prior work has identified as essential in providing care to military personnel.

To strengthen DOD’s force health protection and surveillance for its deployed federal civilians, in our 2006 report, we recommended that DOD establish an oversight and quality assurance mechanism to ensure that all components fully comply with its requirements. In February 2007, the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Health Protection and Readiness published a new instruction on force health protection quality assurance. This policy applies to military servicemembers as well as applicable DOD and contractor personnel. The new policy requires the military services to implement procedures to monitor key force health protection elements such as pre- and post- deployment health assessments. In addition, the policy requires each military service to report its force health protection and quality assurance findings to the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) through the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Health Protection and Readiness. In our June 2007 report on DOD’s compliance with the legislative requirement to perform pre- and post-deployment medical examinations on military servicemembers, we noted that DOD lacked a comprehensive oversight framework to help ensure effective implementation of its deployment health quality assurance program, which included specific reporting requirements and results-oriented performance measures to evaluate the services’ adherence to deployment health requirements. Also, we noted in our 2007 report that the department’s new instruction and planned actions indicate that DOD is taking steps in the right direction. We stated and still believe that if the department follows through with its efforts, it will be responsive to several of our reports’ recommendations to improve DOD’s force health protection and surveillance for the Total Force.

DOD Has Established and Implemented Medical Treatment Policies Which Provide for the Care of Its Deployed Federal Civilians

In our 2006 report, we found that DOD had established medical treatment policies that cover its federal civilians while they are deployed to support contingency operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and available workers’ compensation claims we reviewed confirmed that those deployed federal civilians received care consistent with the policies. These policies state that DOD federal civilians who require treatment for injuries or diseases sustained during overseas hostilities may be provided care under the DOD military health system. DOD’s military health system provides four levels of medical care to personnel who are injured or become ill while deployed, as shown in figure 1.

Medical treatment during a military contingency begins with level one care, which consists of basic first aid and emergency care at a unit in the theater of operation. The treatment then moves to a second level of care, where, at an aid station, injured or ill personnel are examined and evaluated to determine their priority for continued movement outside of the theater of operation and to the next (third) level of care. At the third level, injured or ill personnel are treated in a medical installation staffed and equipped for resuscitation, surgery, and postoperative care. Finally, at the fourth level of care, which occurs far from the theater of operation, injured or ill personnel are treated in a hospital staffed and equipped for definitive care. Injured or ill DOD federal civilians deployed in support of contingency operations in Afghanistan and Iraq who require level four medical care are transported to DOD’s Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany.

In our 2006 report, we found that injured or ill DOD federal civilians who cannot be returned to duty in theater are evacuated to the United States for continuation of medical care. In these cases (or where previously deployed federal civilians later identify injuries or diseases and subsequently request medical treatment), DOD’s policy provides for its federal civilians who require treatment for deployment-related injuries or occupational illnesses to receive medical care through either the military’s medical treatment facilities or civilian facilities. The policy stipulates that federal civilians who are injured or become ill as a result of their deployment must file a FECA claim with DOD, which then files a claim with the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP).

The Department of Labor’s OWCP is responsible for making a decision to award or deny medical benefits. OWCP must establish—based on evidence provided by the DOD civilian—that the employee is eligible for workers’ compensation benefits due to the injury or disease for which the benefits are claimed. To obtain benefits under FECA, as noted in our report, DOD federal civilians must show that (1) they were employed by the U.S. government, (2) they were injured (exposed) in the workplace, (3) they have filed a claim in a timely manner, (4) they have a disabling medical condition, and (5) there is a causal link between their medical condition and the injury or exposure. Three avenues of appeal are provided for employees in the event that the initial claim is denied: (1) reconsideration by an OWCP claims examiner, (2) a hearing or review of the written record by OWCP’s Branch of Hearings and Review, and (3) a review by the Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board. DOD’s medical treatment process and the OWCP’s claims process are shown in figure 2.

Overall, the claims we reviewed showed that the DOD federal civilians who sustained injuries or diseases while deployed had received care that was consistent with DOD’s medical treatment policies. Specifically, in reviewing a sample of seven workers’ compensation claims (out of a universe of 83) filed under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act by DOD federal civilians who deployed to Iraq, we found that in three cases where care was initiated in theater the affected federal civilians had received treatment in accordance with DOD’s policies. For example, in one case, a deployed federal civilian was treated for traumatic injuries at a hospital outside of the theater of operation and could not return to duty in theater because of the severity of the injuries sustained. The civilian was evacuated to the United States and received medical care through several of the military’s medical treatment facilities as well as through a civilian facility. Further, in all seven claims that we reviewed, DOD federal civilians who requested medical care after returning to the United States, had, in accordance with DOD’s policy, received initial medical examinations and/or treatment for their deployment-related injuries or illnesses and diseases through either military or civilian treatment facilities. While OWCP has primary responsibility for processing and approving all FECA claims for medical benefits, the scope of our review did not include assessing actions taken by the Department of Labor’s OWCP in further processing workers’ compensation claims for injured or ill civilians and authorizing continuation of medical care once their claims were submitted for review.

DOD Provides Special Pays and Benefits to Deployed DOD Federal Civilian and Military Personnel, but the Types and Amounts Differ

Our 2006 report found that DOD provides a number of special pays and benefits to its federal civilian personnel who deploy in support of contingency operations, which are generally different in type and in amount from those provided to deployed military personnel. It should be noted that while DOD federal civilian and military personnel are key elements (components) of the Total Force, each is governed by a distinctly different system. Both groups receive special pays, but the types and amounts differ. DOD federal civilian personnel also receive different types and amounts of disability benefits, depending on specific program provisions and individual circumstances. In 2003, we designated federal disability programs as a high-risk area because of continuing challenges with modernizing those programs. Importantly, our work examining federal disability programs has found that the major disability programs are neither well aligned with the 21st century environment nor positioned to provide meaningful and timely support. Further, survivors of deceased DOD federal civilian and military personnel generally receive comparable types of cash survivor benefits—lump sum, recurring, or both—but benefit amounts differ for the two groups. Survivors of DOD federal civilian personnel, however, almost always receive lower noncash benefits than military personnel.

Deployed DOD Federal Civilian and Military Personnel Generally Receive Various Special Pays to Compensate Them for Conditions of Deployment, but the Types and Amounts Differ

DOD federal civilian and military personnel are both eligible to receive special pays to compensate them for the conditions of deployment. As shown in table 5, some of the types of special pays are similar for both DOD federal civilian and military personnel, although the amounts paid to each group differ. Other special pays were unique to each group.

DOD Federal Civilian and Military Personnel Receive Different Types and Amounts of Disability Benefits, Depending on Specific Program Provisions and Individual Circumstances

In the event of sustaining an injury while deployed, DOD federal civilian and military personnel are eligible to receive two broad categories of government-provided disability benefits—disability compensation and disability retirement. However, the benefits applicable to each group vary by type and amount, depending on specific program provisions and individual circumstances. Within these broad categories, there are three main types of disability: (1) temporary disability, (2) permanent partial disability, and (3) permanent total disability. In 2003, we designated federal disability programs as a high-risk area because of continuing challenges with modernizing those programs. Importantly, our work examining federal disability programs has found that the major disability programs are neither well aligned with the 21st century environment nor positioned to provide meaningful and timely support.

Temporary Disability Benefits

Both DOD federal civilian and military personnel who are injured in the line of duty are eligible to receive continuation of their pay during the initial period of treatment and may be eligible to receive recurring payments for lost wages. However, the payments to DOD federal civilian personnel are based on their salaries and whether the employee has any dependents, regardless of the number, which can vary significantly, whereas disability compensation payments made by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to injured military personnel are based on the severity of the injury and their number of dependents, as shown in table 6. DOD federal civilian personnel are eligible to receive continuation of pay (salary) for up to 45 days, followed by a recurring payment for wage loss which is based on a percentage of salary and whether they have any dependents, up to a cap. In contrast, military personnel receive continuation of pay of their salary for generally no longer than a year, followed by a recurring VA disability compensation payment for wage loss that is based on the degree of disability and their number of dependents, and temporary DOD disability retirement for up to 5 years.

When a partial disability is determined to be permanent, DOD federal civilian and military personnel can to continue to receive recurring compensation payments, as shown in table 7. For DOD federal civilian personnel, these payments are provided for the remainder of life as long as the impairment persists, and can vary significantly depending upon the salary of the individual and the existence of dependents. Military personnel are also eligible to receive recurring VA disability compensation payments for the remainder of their lives, and these payments are based on the severity of the servicemember’s injury and the number of dependents. In addition, both groups are eligible to receive additional compensation payments beyond the recurring payments just discussed, based on the type of impairment. DOD federal civilians with permanent partial disabilities receive a schedule of payments based on the specific type of impairment (sometimes referred to as a schedule award). Some impairments may result in benefits for a few weeks, while others may result in benefits for several years. Similarly, military personnel receive special monthly VA compensation payments depending on the specific type and degree of impairment.

When an injury is severe enough to be deemed permanent and total, DOD federal civilian and military personnel may receive similar types of benefits, such as disability compensation and retirement payments; however, the amounts paid to each group vary. For civilian personnel, the monthly payment amounts for total disability are generally similar to those for permanent partial disability described earlier, but unlike with permanent partial disabilities, the payments do not take into account any wage earning capacity. Both groups are eligible to receive additional compensation payments beyond the recurring payments similar to those for permanent partial disability. DOD federal civilians with permanent disabilities receive a schedule award based on the specific type of impairment. In addition, DOD federal civilian personnel may be eligible for an additional attendant allowance—up to $1,500 per month during 2006— if such care is needed. Military personnel receive special monthly VA compensation payments for particularly severe injuries, such as amputations, blindness, or other loss of use of organs and extremities. The payments are designed to account for attendant care or other special needs deriving from the disability. In 2003, we designated federal disability programs as a high-risk area because of continuing challenges with modernizing those programs. Our work examining federal disability programs found that the major disability programs are neither well aligned with the 21st century environment nor positioned to provide meaningful and timely support.

Survivors of DOD Federal Civilian and Military Personnel Received Comparable Types of Benefits, but Benefit Amounts Differ

Survivors of deceased DOD federal civilian and military personnel generally receive similar types of cash survivor benefits—either as a lump sum, a recurring payment, or both—through comparable sources. However, the benefit amounts generally differ for each group. Survivors of civilian and military personnel also receive noncash benefits, which differ in type and amounts.

As shown in table 8, survivors of deceased DOD federal civilian and military personnel both receive lump sum benefits in the form of Social Security, a death gratuity, burial expenses, and life insurance.

Survivors of deceased DOD federal civilian and military personnel are also eligible for recurring benefits, some of which are specific to each group, as shown in table 9.

In addition to lump sum and recurring benefits, survivors of deceased DOD federal civilians and military personnel receive noncash benefits. As shown in table 10, survivors of deceased military personnel receive more noncash benefits than do those of deceased DOD federal civilian personnel, with few benefits being comparable in type.

Concluding Observations

DOD currently has important policies in place that relate to the deployment of its federal civilians. Moreover, DOD’s issuance of its new instruction on force health quality assurance further indicates that DOD is taking steps in the right direction. If the department follows through with its efforts, we believe it will strengthen its force health protection and surveillance oversight for the Total Force.

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, this concludes my prepared statement. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Contacts and Acknowledgments

If you or your staffs have any questions about this testimony, please contact Brenda S. Farrell at (202) 512-3604 or farrellb@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this statement. Key contributors to this testimony include Sandra B. Burrell, Assistant Director; Julie C. Matta; and John S. Townes.

This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. The published product may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without further permission from GAO. However, because this work may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this material separately.