Health care expenses are one of the largest contributing factors to increased personnel costs, the fastest-rising component of the Department of Defense\u27s budget. This research examines the cost implications of developing a new military treatment facility in a specified geographical region, in an effort to reduce military health care spending. Care received at a military treatment facility is referred to as direct care, while care received in the private sector is referred to as purchased care. This research leverages existing information on direct and purchased medical care to gain insights into the workload costs for medical care in a geographical region. This research uses a Monte Carlo simulation approach to determine the direct and purchased care costs for general surgery and orthopedic specialties. The method is applied to the Atlanta, Georgia region and conclude that based on workload measures, it is cheaper in Atlanta to provide direct care at a new military treatment facility
