House lawmakers appear poised to reverse Pentagon plans to close or cut services at 41 military treatment facilities (MTFs).

Language in the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel’s mark of the Fiscal FY 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would halt planned reductions at selected MTFs and require a comprehensive review of Defense Health Agency (DHA) restructuring plans.

The legislation also provided the first detailed look at the list of MTFs proposed for reduced services.

[NDAA FIRST LOOK: TRICARE Coverage Changes, Duty Status Reform, and More]

MTF restructuring traces its roots to the FY 2017 NDAA, which directed sweeping reforms across the military health system (MHS). Goals include achieving efficiencies and consolidating uniformed medical providers in the largest military hospitals, where they have the case volume and complexity needed to maintain clinical skills essential to operational medicine.

MOAA’s work on this issue has highlighted the need for rigorous data-based analysis and mitigation planning before any beneficiaries are moved out of MTFs and into the civilian sector for medical care.

As Congress considers proposals to realign the direct care system, MOAA continues to advocate for several key principles:

• Preserve Military-Essential MTFs: Military hospitals and clinics located in rural, remote, and medically underserved areas must be maintained when civilian capacity is insufficient to meet the needs of servicemembers and their families.
  
  
• Protect MTF Pharmacy Access: Even where facilities are downsized, pharmacy services should remain available. Military pharmacies provide beneficiaries with convenient access to medications at the lowest cost to both patients and the Pentagon.
  
  
• Verify Civilian Capacity Before Any Transition: No beneficiary should be moved out of an MTF until DHA demonstrates adequate civilian network capacity. That analysis must include provider availability, TRICARE participation, appointment wait times, and quality-of-care measures.
  
  
• Put Patients First: Transitions should include proactive communication, sufficient implementation timelines, and personalized assistance for vulnerable populations, including seniors, medically complex patients, and families with special medical needs.
  
  
• Create Local Accountability: Every downsized facility should have a designated office or point of contact responsible for helping patients resolve transition-related problems.
  
  
• Strengthen Oversight: Congress should require metrics to monitor access and defined thresholds that trigger corrective action to ensure problems are identified and addressed before beneficiaries experience prolonged disruptions in care.

[RELATED: Urge Your Lawmakers to Address MTF Access Problems With the Military CARE Act]

MOAA is conducting a detailed review of legislative language from the subcommittee mark – including how proposed MTF changes align with statutory requirements from past authorization bills – and will continue to follow this issue closely during next week’s full committee markup.

Facilities Facing Closure, Cuts 

Downsizing from Inpatient Hospital to an Outpatient Ambulatory Care Center

• Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort Gordon, Ga.
• 88th Medical Group, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio (also closing pediatric cardiology services and discontinuing contracts for chiropractic services)
• Naval Hospital Beaufort, S.C. (also discontinuing contracts for chiropractic services)

Closing

• Desert Sage Community Based Medical Home, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Fort Bliss, Texas

Limiting Access to Active Duty Servicemembers and their Dependents

• 22nd Medical Group, McConnell Air Force Base, Kan.
• 341st Medical Group, Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.
• 28th Medical Group, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.
• 92nd Medical Group, Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash.
• 90th Medical Group, Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.
• 355th Medical Group, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.
• 9th Medical Group, Beale Air Force Base, Calif.
• 45th Medical Group, Patrick Space Force Base, Fla.
• 4th Medical Group, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.
• 460th Medical Group, Buckley Space Force Base, Colo.
• 27th Special Operations Medical Group, Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.
• 412th Medical Group, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
• 30th Medical Group, Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.
• Naval Health Clinic Corpus Christi, Texas
• 19th Medical Group, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. (also discontinuing nutrition services)
• 20th Medical Group, Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. (also discontinuing contracts for nutrition services)

Limiting Access to Active Duty Servicemembers and Dependents Living on Base

• 23rd Medical Group, Moody Air Force Base, Ga.
• 366th Medical Group, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho
• 319th Medical Group, Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D.
• 61st Medical Squadron, Los Angeles Space Force Base, Calif.
  
  

Limiting Access to Active Duty Servicemembers Only

• 78th Medical Group, Robins Air Force Base, Ga.
• 72nd Medical Group, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.
• 75th Medical Group, Hill Air Force Base, Utah
• 66th Medical Squadron, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.

Discontinuing Contracts for Chiropractic and Nutrition Services

• 55th Medical Group, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
• 2nd Medical Group, Barksdale Air Force Base, La.
• 87th Medical Group, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.

Discontinuing Contracts for Chiropractic Services

• 1st Special Operations Medical Group, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
• 10th Medical Group, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.
• 96th Medical Group, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

Other Reduced Services

• David Grant Medical Center, Travis Air Force Base, Calif. (Closing labor and delivery services)
• 42nd Medical Group, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. (Discontinuing educational and developmental intervention services)
• Vilseck Army Health Clinic, Germany (Discontinuing physical medicine and rehabilitation services)
• Naval Health Clinic Patuxent River, Branch Health Clinic Dahlgren, Va. (Discontinuing radiology services)
• Army Health Clinic Munson, Fort Leavenworth, Kan. (Discontinuing mammography services)
• Naval Health Clinic Lemoore, Calif. (Discontinuing operating room services)
• 7th Medical Group, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas (Discontinuing contracts for nutrition services)

MOAA will keep members informed as this legislation moves forward and work to ensure any changes to the MHS prioritize the needs of those who have served.