News and Updates

Stars and Stripes | DOD bringing ‘listening sessions’ on health care pilot program to US bases in Japan

GAO | Civilian Workforce: DOD Is Implementing Actions to Address Challenges with Accessing Health Care in Japan and Guam

Business Insider | The US military is woefully unprepared for the catastrophic casualties of a major Pacific war

Stars and Stripes | AAFES plans dental clinic for civilians at airlift hub in western Tokyo

DimSum Daily | Barbie Hsu’s death exposes Japanese doctors’ reluctance to treat foreign patients

Stars and Stripes | Pentagon announces pilot program to improve health care access for civilians in Japan

Stars and Stripes | Delayed medical bills confuse hundreds of Defense Department civilians in Japan

Stars and Stripes | Air Force reopens Okinawa clinic following probe into ineffective vaccines

Stars and Stripes | Rare blood drive collects 173 pints for US military community in Japan

Military.com ｜Air Force Families Must Be Prepared for Catastrophic Events Amid Shift to Potential Pacific Conflict, Service Chief Says

Federal Times | Defense Health Agency nurses face recruiting freeze, threats to pay

Stars and Stripes | Health care for DOD workers in Japan is near ‘lowest point in decades,’ advocates say

NPR | After downsizing health care for years, Pentagon says medical readiness was a casualty

NPR | Pentagon's reduction in military medical costs is criticized as going too far

Business Insider | I gave birth to my daughter in Japan. My husband and I loved living there, but she needed better healthcare, so I moved back to the US.

GAO | Electronic Health Records：DOD Has Deployed New System but Challenges Remain

DOD Inspector General | Project Announcement: Audit of DHA’s Management of Military Treatment Facilities.

Stars and Stripes | Lack of civilian health care in Japan causing ‘serious and negatve impacts,’ lawmakers say

Federal News Network | In Japan, half of military spouse health workers unemployed amid ‘shortage’ of providers

Military.com | Medical Care Shortfalls for US Personnel in Japan Trigger Push from Lawmakers for Improvements

Congress | Ongoing Concerns with Civilian Access to Medical Care In Japan

Stars and Stripes | US personnel ‘routinely denied’ emergency care in Japan, military probe finds

Stars and Stripes | Army program helps DOD civilians navigate Japanese health care system

GAO | DOD Should Monitor Urgent Referrals to Civilian Behavioral Health Providers to Ensure Timely Care

Military.com | In Reversal, Defense Department Now Wants to Bring Tricare Beneficiaries Back to Military Health System

Military.com | Denied Care, Deaths in Japan Result from Lack of Emergency Medical Services for American Personnel

Stars and Stripes | DOD IG report highlights health care access issues in US military communities worldwide

Military Times | DOD watchdog report warns of issues across military health care system

DOD Inspector General | (U) Management Advisory: Concerns with Access to Care and Staffing Shortages in the Military Health System

Federal News Network | In Japan, civilian feds say health care crisis still isn’t fixed

Stars and Stripes | ‘We need to leave’: Questionable health care has some DOD teachers looking to depart Japan

Stars and Stripes | Overseas and under the poverty line: The system that keeps so many military spouses abroad unemployed

Federal News Network | Congress nudges DoD toward fixing serious health care shortfalls in Japan

Military.com | Plan to Slash Military Medical Billets Based on Faulty Analysis, Federal Watchdog Says

GAO | Defense Health Care: Additional Assessments Needed to Determine Effects of Active Duty Medical Personnel Reductions

Military.com | Staffing Shortages Hit Naval Hospital Okinawa, Causing Chaos for Expecting Moms

Stars and Stripes | Pregnant military mothers dodge delivery-care drama on Okinawa

NIKKEI Asia | Japan's health care reform debate drags on as worker shortage grows

PRESS RELEASE | Letter to DoD on Civilian Health Care in Japan

Stars and Stripes | US military hospitals in Japan further ease DOD civilians’ access to health care

Stars and Stripes | DOD’s reversal on civilian medical care ‘a move in the right direction,’ advocates say

Stars and Stripes | Military doctors must treat DOD civilians’ chronic conditions in Indo-Pacific, DHA says

Stars and Stripes | Longtime AFN leader dies of heart attack at US air base in Japan

Stars and Stripes | Civilian organizers used social media to spark DOD health care revolt in Japan

Federal News Network | ‘More people are going to die’: DoD civilians in Japan face health care access crisis

Stars and Stripes | DOD civilian health care tour in Japan ends with raucous meeting on Okinawa

Stars and Stripes | More than 10 Japanese hospitals declined to admit DOD civilian ahead of his heart attack death

DVIDS | Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness visits Yokota Air Base

Coffee or Die | The US Military needs them in Japan, but the Pentagon just dropped their healthcare.

DVIDS | Defense Health Agency to Japan “We Hear You!”

The Daily Caller | US Defense Employees In Japan Struggle For Health Care After DOD Scaled Down Services, Failed To Tell Tokyo

Stars and Stripes | Pentagon execs say 'solutions' are needed for DOD civilian health care in Japan

Stars and Stripes | DOD failed to apprise Japanese medical providers about a potential wave of US patients

Stars and Stripes | Senator questions Pentagon decision to limit DOD civilians’ access to on-base health care in Japan

Stars and Stripes | Pentagon officials to visit major US bases in Japan to discuss civilian health care

Japan Today | Ambulance workers struggle to find hospitals to admit patients for 4th consecutive week

Stars and Stripes | DOD civilians air health care complaints during third town hall in Japan

Stars and Stripes | DOD civilians in Japan press Congress to restore their access to military hospitals

Stars and Stripes | DOD civilians in Japan air their complaints about restrictions to on-base medical care

Aviation Pros | DOD Civilians in Japan Must Find Medical Care Off-Base

Stars and Stripes | DOD civilians in Japan must find medical care off-base

Stars and Stripes | DOD says it will stop treating civilians in Indo-Pacific for chronic health conditions

Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research | Shortage of Doctors at the Root of Japan’s COVID Hospital Crisis

Stars and Stripes | DOD civilians in Japan should plan for off-base medical care, Defense Health Agency chief says

Stars and Stripes | ‘A problem unique to Japan’: DOD civilians warn of looming loss of military health care

Health.mil | DHA Region Indo-Pacific Standardizes Medical Readiness and Health Care

Stars and Stripes | Lack of medical care for civilians raises concerns at US Navy base in Japan

The Japan Times | Japan to face a shortage of nearly 1 million medical and welfare staff in 2040

Japan Today | Record high number of ambulances struggling to find hospitals in Japan

CBS News | Lawmakers demand change as civilians are hit with "exorbitant" medical bills for emergency treatment at military facilities

NHK World Japan | Foreigners without residency status fear for their lives

US GAO | Defense Health Care: Actions Needed to Improve Billing and Collection of Debt for Civilian Emergency Care

Stars and Stripes | US air base in Tokyo sends civilian children off base for health care

Stars and Stripes | Family says air base in Japan denied spouse mental health referral before suicide

The Mainichi | Uninsured foreigners in Japan face threats to life, ballooning medical costs

Federal News Network | Moving more TRICARE patients to civilian care would cause ‘significant harm,’ study finds

The Mainichi | Some hospitals in Japan imposing conditions for foreigners amid language, other concerns

Kyodo News | Woman with COVID-19 loses baby after being forced to give birth at home

AAFP | Letter Urges Protection of Access to Military Health Care. AAFP Joins Objection to Replacing 15,000 Positions With Civilians

The Lancet | Health-care disparities for foreign residents in Japan

Stars and Stripes | Yokosuka hospital makes changes to unpopular appointment policy

Stars and Stripes | Yokosuka hospital stands by rule that limits access for civilians

Stars and Stripes | Navy hospital billing backlog leaves patients mired in debt and red tape

GEO | Defense Health Care: Additional Analysis of Costs and Benefits of Potential Governance Structures Is Needed

Japan Today | Cases of emergency patient refusal by hospitals rise to over 16,000

Stars and Stripes | Relations with Japanese hospitals strained by unpaid medical bills

US GAO | Defense Health Care:

Resources, Patient Access, and Challenges in Europe and the Pacific