May 8, 2019
FY2020 Budget Request for the Military Health System
On March 11, 2019, President Donald Trump submitted his
Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 budget request to Congress. The
Department of Defense (DOD) budget request totals $761.8
billion, including $49.5 billion (6.5%) to fund the Military
Health System (MHS). DOD refers to this latter portion of
the DOD budget request as the unified medical budget
(UMB). The MHS delivers certain health entitlements
under Chapter 55 of Title 10, U.S. Code, to military
personnel, retirees, and their families. The MHS provides
health care to approximately 9.6 million beneficiaries in
DOD hospitals and clinics–known as military treatment
facilities (MTFs)–and through civilian health care providers
participating in TRICARE.
Congress traditionally appropriates mandatory and
discretionary funding for the MHS in several accounts
within the annual defense appropriations bill. These include
the Defense Health Program (DHP), Military Personnel
(MILPERS), and Military Construction (MILCON).
Funding is typically appropriated to both DOD’s base and
overseas contingency operations (OCO) budgets.
FY2020 MHS Budget Request
The FY2020 MHS budget request is 2.3% ($1.2 billion)
below the FY2019 appropriation. The request, as shown in
Table 1, includes:
$33.3 billion for DHP;
$8.1 billion for medical MILPERS;
$0.3 billion for medical MILCON; and
$7.8 billion for health care accrual
contributions to the Medicare Eligible
Retiree Health Care Fund (MERHCF).
Defense Health Program (DHP)
The DHP account funds numerous MHS functions, such as
health care delivery in MTFs, TRICARE, certain medical
readiness activities and expeditionary medical capabilities,
education and training programs, medical research,
management and headquarters activities, facilities
sustainment, and procurement. The FY2020 request for the
DHP account is $33.3 billion, which is 2.9% below the
appropriated amount for FY2019. Selected highlights from
this request are listed in Table 2, which includes programs
that DOD intends to create, expand, or reduce.
Military Personnel (MILPERS)
Medical MILPERS funds military and civilian personnel
within the MHS. This includes various pay and allowances,
such as basic, incentive, and special pays; subsistence for
enlisted personnel; permanent change of station travel; and
retirement contributions.
Table 1. Military Health System Funding, FY2017-FY2020 Request
($ in billions)
Source: Department of Defense, “Defense Budget Overview,” March 2019, p. 2-4, https://go.usa.gov/xmQ7X. Department of Defense, “Defense Health
Program Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Budget Estimates,” March 2019, p. DHP-13, https://go.usa.gov/xmNWJ; Department of Defense, “Defense Health
Program Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Budget Estimates,” February 2018, p. DHP-15, https://go.usa.gov/xmQ7E; Department of Defense, “Operation and
Maintenance Programs (O-1),” March 2017, pp. 31-31B, https://go.usa.gov/xmQ7p; Email communication with DOD officials, March 2019.
Notes: Numbers may not add up due to rounding. Enacted RDT&E figures include unrequested funds for the Congressionally Directed Medical
Research Program. Congress appropriates discretionary funding for the DHP, MILPERS, and MILCON accounts and mandatory funding for MERHCF
contributions.
