'Ludicrous' Defense contract keeps Reserve physicians from treating troops, congressman says

A $790 million Defense Department contract prevents uniformed doctors from performing medical exams on soldiers during drill weekends, said a U.S. congressman who also serves as an Army Reserve doctor.

Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., said the contract calls for Logistics Health Inc. to perform physical, mental and dental screenings for reservists and precludes Reserve clinicians from conducting those screenings. During drill weekends, Reserve and National Guard doctors and dentists can provide medical care for the homeless in their communities, but not their troops, Heck told Nextgov.com in an interview, calling the situation "ludicrous."

The company denies Heck's claim, and a Defense official has said it is time to look into the matter.

The contract with the privately held, Janesville, Wis., company whose chairman, Tommy Thompson, served as secretary of the Health and Human Services department from 2001 to 2005, calls for private clinicians to conduct periodic exams of Reserve troops, who then don't receive routine and timely checkups by uniformed doctors, Heck said.

As a result, some soldiers end up with a medical profile that could keep them from deploying, Heck said. If Reserve doctors had been able to conduct routine exams, they could have identified and rectified medical conditions that prevent deployment.

The contract with Logistics Health, whose board includes William Winkenwerder Jr., a senior Defense official from October 2001 through April 2007, prevents Reserve clinicians from doing even the simplest of medical tasks, such as providing shots for troops, Heck said.

The contract for the Reserve Health Readiness Program, "is not cost effective, impacts training and impacts readiness," he said.

Charish Badzinski, a spokeswoman for Logistics Health, denied that the contract prevented medical treatment, but did not offer examples. "Neither [Logistics Health Inc.] nor the [Reserve Health Readiness Program] contract prohibits Service Components from performing their medical readiness services organically," she wrote in an emailed statement.

Heck asked Defense officials last Tuesday how much the contract cost in total and when it will be up for renewal, during a hearing of the Subcommittee on Military Personnel of the House Armed Services Committee.

He described the contract as "an area of great concern" for him because it prohibited Reserve clinicians from caring for their troops.

Clifford Stanley, undersecretary of Defense for personnel and readiness, at the hearing replied to Heck's concerns, saying it is time to review the contract and figure out how Reserve doctors could care for their troops on drill weekends.