CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES

1. CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES Mr. Doug Flynn Head, Congressional/BSO Action Team – M09B3 MTF and Beneficiary Support Services, Office of the Secretariat Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Washington, DC 202-762-3178 doug.flynn@med.navy.mil 1

2. CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES Doug Flynn – M09B3 September2007 OBJECTIVES GETTING STARTED UNDERSTANDING THE INQUIRY RESPONSES INCORPORATING THE 5W’s ANSWERING THE MAIL EXAMPLES 2

3. CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES Doug Flynn – M09B3 September2007 GETTING STARTED • Take charge • Don’t put off responses • Re-direct within 24 hours or you own it….. • Coordinate with subject matter experts (SMEs) • Ask the tough questions - prepare the response – It’s your job! 3

4. CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES Doug Flynn – M09B3 September2007 Understanding the Inquiry • What are the key points? • Multiple issues/concerns? • Do all issues fall under yourdirectoratespurview? • Issues or concerns outside your purview should be forwarded for review and response as deemed appropriate Reimbursement Active Duty Claims – MMSO Retirement of Medical Records – NPRC - DVARMC Medical Discharge – PEB Burial at Sea Program - MMSO 4

5. CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES Doug Flynn – M09B3 September2007 Do you have a signed Privacy Act Release or a DD Form 2870 Authorization for Disclosure of Medical or Dental Information? SECNAVINST 5211.5E of 28 Dec 2005 5

6. PA RELEASE AND HIPAA SIMPLIFIED Congressional Inquiries (CIs) from the constituent (information owner) not involving Personal Information (PI) or Protected Health Information (PHI) PA release form NOT required. CIs from a 3rd party not involving PI/PHI PA release form NOT required – But… RECOMMENDED as a safeguard CIs from the constituent involving PI PA release form NOT required. CIs from the constituent involving PHI HIPAA release form DD Form 2870 REQUIRED. CIs from 3rd party involving PI PA release form REQUIRED. CIs from 3rd party involving PHI HIPAA release form DD Form 2870 REQUIRED. DD Form 2870 signed by person whose PHI will be released RECOMMENDATION CIs involving Quality Assurance (QA) information i.e., quality of care investigations DO NOT release without consult from Legal Office.

7. CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES Doug Flynn – M09B3 September2007 Responses (Written and Verbal) • Brief, clear and to the point • Eliminate confusing technical jargon - Write in layman terminology • Acronyms - Spell it once - abbreviate the rest! • A one page response is preferred (not the rule) • Must be answered within 5 working days per SECNAVINST 5730.5H of May 2005 • Interim letter of acknowledgement required when deadline • cannot be met • Did you know: the average individual reads at a 7th grade level 7

8. CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES Doug Flynn – M09B3 September2007 Incorporating the 5 W’s 6320 Ser M09B3/06UCON-0012121h September 26, 2007 The Honorable Ben Cardin United States Senator Tower 1, Suite 1710 100 S. Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21201 Dear Senator Cardin: Thank you for your letter of April 24, 2007, on behalf of your constituent, Captain (CAPT) John J. Jennings, Medical Service Corps, USN, Retired (who) . CAPT Jennings is seeking clarification of policy (what)regarding dispensing of medications by the pharmacy department at National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda (where). Specifically, CAPT Jennings claims he was denied certain medications (why) in August 2007 (when) because his prescriptions were written by his private physician vice a military healthcare provider. 6

9. CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES Doug Flynn – M09B3 September2007 Answering the Mail • Interim responses should provide - as much relevant information available at the time of your response - the reason additional time is needed and - the date a final response can be expected • Single point-of-contact to screen and assign all Congressional Inquiries (Typically Code EA) • Always coordinate with Congressional office and never contact a constituent without prior approval or consent from Congressional Staffer or POC 8

10. CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES Doug Flynn – M09B3 September2007 Answering the Mail • Before putting pen to paper, know what you are going to say • Writing a letter off of the top of your head often results in a meandering, disorganized, and sometimes misleading message • Know who you are responding to and their attitude toward you before composing your response. • Put yourself in the reader's place • A document that practices the "you-attitude" relays a concern for the reader's interests and gives the reader the impression that his/her concerns and issues matter. Jackie Palmer, Texas A&M University 9

11. CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES Doug Flynn – M09B3 September2007 Answering the Mail • Get to the point…. • Avoid obvious statements such as: • "You wrote and asked me for the current Department of Defense formulary” • instead try….. • "Here is the current Department of Defense formulary you requested." • If you can not do what the individual wants, tell them what you can do. 10

12. CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES Doug Flynn – M09B3 September2007 Answering the Mail – Don’t Be Sorry! • Avoid apologies as a way to show sympathy unless it is • absolutely necessary • Apologies not backed by action carry little weight. • Constituents will be more impressed by good reasons and • evidence of action to correct a problem than by the most sincere • apology. • Apologies have the potential to be read as expressions of • personal responsibility. • In our culture, we tend to say, "I'm sorry" to show people we sympathize with their situations. However, this could be perceived as inappropriate in a business context because in legal terms, every word put in black and white is legally binding. 11

13. CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES Doug Flynn – M09B3 September2007 Answering the Mail – Check it Once, Twice • Content and Political Issues • Be aware of individual concerns • Include relevant recent events or changes in policy • Highlight organization's successes • Format Issues • Develop a checklist to ensure that letters are: • accurate • include correct titles and addresses • spelling – Document Control Numbers (DCN) • enclosures • envelopes 12

14. Letterhead Paper DoD Seal SSIC Ser # and DCN # Date 2 sp Inside Address 2 sp Salutation 2 sp 5 sp Body 2 sp 5 sp 2 sp 5 sp 2 sp 5 sp 2 sp Closing 2 sp Complimentary Closing 4 sp Signature CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES Doug Flynn – M09B3 July 2006 Typed Signature Block 13

15. CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES Doug Flynn – M09B3 September2007 Addressing Members of the Senate: The Honorable Carl Levin United States Senator Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building477 Michigan Avenue, Suite 1860Detroit, MI 48226-2576 The Honorable Carl Levin U.S. Senate 269 Russell Office BuildingWashington, DC 20510-2202 Dear Senator Levin Dear Mr. Chairman (Armed Services Committee) STATE/DISTRICT SENATE OFFICE WASHINGTON DC SALUTATION 14

16. CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES Doug Flynn – M09B3 September2007 Addressing Members of the House:Members of Congress The Honorable Charles W. Dent Member, United States House of Representatives 701 West Broad Street Suite 200 Bethlehem, PA 18018 The Honorable Charles W. Dent United States House of Representatives 502 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Dear Mr. DentDear Representative Dent STATE/DISTRICT HOUSE OFFICE WASHINGTON DC SALUTATION 15

17. CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES Doug Flynn – M09B3 September2007 QUESTIONS Mr. Doug Flynn Head, Congressional/BSO Action Team – M09B3 202-762-3178 Ms. Dorephine Williams Assistant Congressional/BSO Action Team –M09B3A 202-762-3216 MTF and Beneficiary Support Services Office of the Secretariat Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Washington, DC