(a) Study
Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall conduct a study to determine the feasibility of establishing a digital system under which—
a covered individual who receives health care at a military medical treatment facility may electronically—
file a complaint relating to access to care at such military medical treatment facility; and
view the status of such complaint at any time, including the status of any interim or final action taken to address the complaint;
any complaint filed under paragraph (1)(A) is promptly transmitted to an appropriate patient advocate of the Department of Defense; and
complaints filed under paragraph (1)(A) with respect to a military medical treatment facility may be automatically aggregated and submitted to the Director of the Defense Health Agency on a quarterly basis.
(b) Report
(1) Requirement
Not later than December 1, 2027, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report on the feasibility of establishing the digital system described in subsection (a).
(2) Elements
The report under paragraph (1) shall include the following:
An identification of the most common complaints relating to access to care filed by covered individuals.
A comparison of the number of complaints regarding access to specialty care versus access to primary care.
A comparison of the number of complaints regarding access to pediatric care versus nonpediatric care.
A comparison of the number of complaints regarding administrative hurdles to access to care versus other issues relating to access to care.
A summary of steps taken to reduce complaints relating to access to care.
(c) Covered individual defined
In this section, the term covered individual means an individual enrolled in a health care plan under the TRICARE program and eligible to receive care at a military medical treatment facility.