CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED// ROUTINE R 271617Z FEB 23 MID200080757107U FM SECNAV WASHINGTON DC TO ALNAV INFO SECNAV WASHINGTON DC CNO WASHINGTON DC CMC WASHINGTON DC BT UNCLAS ALNAV 018/23 MSGID/GENADMIN/SECNAV WASHINGTON DC/-/FEB// SUBJ/ADMINISTRATIVE ABSENCE OR FUNDED TRAVEL FOR NON-COVERED REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE// REF/A/SECDEF MEMORANDUM/20OCT22// REF/B/ALNAV 071/22// REF/C/USD-PR MEMORANDUM/16FEB23// REF/D/DODI 1327.06/15JAN21 REF/E/JOINT TRAVEL REGULATIONS// REF/F/SECNAVINST 1000.10B/16JAN19// REF/G/OPNAVINST 6000.1D/12MAR18// REF/H/MCO 5000.12F CH-1/10MAR21// NARR/REF A IS GUIDANCE FROM THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ENTITLED, "ENSURING ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE." REF B IS ALNAV ENTITLED "REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES AND SUPPORT." REF C IS UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR PERSONNEL AND READINESS GUIDANCE ENTITLED "ADMINISTRATIVE ABSENCE FOR NON-COVERED REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE." REF D IS DOD INSTRUCTION 1327.06 ENTITLED "LEAVE AND LIBERTY PROCEDURES." REF E IS JOINT TRAVEL REGULATIONS. REF F REF F IS SECNAV INSTRUCTION ENTITLED "DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY POLICY ON PARENTHOOD AND PREGNANCY." REF G OPNAV INSTRUCTION ENTITLED "NAVY GUIDELINES CONCERNING PREGNANCY AND PARENTHOOD." REF H IS MARINE CORPS ORDER ENTITLED "MARINE CORPS POLICY CONCERNING PARENTHOOD AND PREGNANCY."// RMKS/1. The Department of the Navy (DON) is committed to ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of those who serve our country, and their families in an environment of safety, privacy, and respect. Our Sailors, Marines, and their families are often required to travel or relocate their households to meet our staffing, operational, and training requirements. Such relocations should not limit their access to reproductive health care. References (a) and (b) announced the intent to establish policies allowing Service Members authorization to either an administrative absence to obtain non-covered reproductive health care or provided travel and transportation allowances to facilitate official travel to access non-covered reproductive health care that is unavailable within the local area of a Service Member's permanent duty station. 2. It is the responsibility of the commanding officer (CO) or approval authorities to meet operational requirements and protect the health and safety of those in their care. COs or approval authorities are expected to continue to display objectivity, compassion, and discretion when addressing all health care matters, including reproductive health care matters, and have a duty to enforce existing policies against discrimination and retaliation in the context of reproductive health care choices. 3. Consistent with existing law and Department policy, COs will protect the privacy of protected health information received under this policy, as they should with any other protected health information. Such health care information shall be restricted to personnel with a specific need to know; that is, access to the information must be necessary for the conduct of official duties. Personnel shall also be accountable for safeguarding this health care information consistent with existing law and Departmental policy. 4. Administrative absence to obtain non-covered reproductive health care. a. Reference (c) authorizes the expanded use of administrative absence to include the ability for a Sailor or Marine to request administrative absence from their duties at their normal duty station for non-covered reproductive health care without loss of pay or being charged leave, thus ensuring access to lawfully available non-covered reproductive health care regardless of duty station. Reference (d) will be updated to reflect this change. b. Eligibility. Active duty Service Members, including Reserve Component members when on active duty orders for 30 or more consecutive days, may be granted an administrative absence to receive, or to accompany a dual- military spouse or a dependent who receives, non-covered reproductive health care as defined in paragraph 6. This administrative absence should be granted whether or not such care is available within the local area of the eligible Service Member's duty location as defined in reference (e), section 0206, "Travel In and Around the Permanent Duty Station (PDS)," or whether the dual-military spouse or dependent resides with, or are geographically separated from, the eligible Service Member. c. Duration. The administrative absence may be granted for a period up to 21 days per request. The period of absence will be limited to the minimum number of days essential to receive the required care and travel needed to access the care by the most expeditious means of transportation practicable. COs will limit health information required to the minimum amount necessary to ensure eligibility and be reasonably sure the duration of the time authorized meets this criteria. Should a Service Member or dependent decide not to proceed with the non-covered reproductive care, the DON will not charge the time away as leave and the member should expeditiously return to the unit. d. Approval Guidance. COs or approval authorities should grant an administrative absence to eligible Sailors and Marines when a non-covered reproductive health care need is identified by the eligible Service Member. Requests for administrative absence should be given all due consideration and should be granted to the greatest extent practicable, unless, in the CO's judgment, the Service Member's absence would impair proper execution of the military mission. If the CO denies the request, the Sailor or Marine may appeal the request to the next level of leadership. (1) It is essential that COs or approval authorities act promptly and with appropriate discretion when considering a Service Member's request for an administrative absence to obtain non-covered reproductive health care, with due regard to the time-sensitive nature of many non-covered reproductive health care services. To the greatest extent practicable, delay in granting an administrative absence should not result in an eligible Service Member being unable to access the non-covered reproductive health care that served as the basis for the administrative absence request. (2) In considering the mission impact of a Service Member's request for an administrative absence for non-covered reproductive health care - for example, where recurring care may be necessary over a period of time - COs or approval authorities should coordinate with the eligible Service Member to balance operational requirements and the reproductive health care schedule. (3) COs or approval authorities will not levy additional requirements on the eligible Service Member (including, but not limited to, consultations with a mental health provider or a chaplain, medical testing, or other forms of counseling) prior to approving or denying the administrative absence request. (4) Eligible Service Members shall not be granted an administrative absence if their intention is to sell, to offer for sale, or to receive proceeds from a sale resulting from an Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) procedure while on, or in connection with taking, such absence (including, but not limited to, selling eggs, embryos, sperm, or services as a surrogate). e. Convalescent Leave. COs or approval authorities may also grant a Service Member convalescent leave, as permitted under reference (d), following receipt of non-covered reproductive health care based on a recommendation from a Department of Defense (DoD) health care provider or a non-DoD health care provider from whom the Service Member is receiving care. 5. Travel allowances a. Eligibility, reimbursement amounts, and procedures for travel allowances to obtain non-covered reproductive health care services will be provided in reference (e). This policy does not apply to travel for covered procedures, such as when a pregnancy termination is covered because the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest, or where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term. b. Travel funding is the responsibility of the command authorizing the travel. Commands must adhere to fiscal regulations and may not authorize travel which is not required or for which funding is not available, but all levels of leadership are expected to support this policy and prioritize available resources accordingly. If funding is an issue, commands will work with their chain of command and budget submitting office to obtain additional funds. c. Should a Service Member or dependent decide not to proceed with non - covered reproductive health care after travel requested in good faith has commenced, the DON will not recoup travel funds and the Service Member should expeditiously return. 6. Non-covered reproductive health care consists of lawfully available ART and non-covered abortion. a. A covered abortion is an abortion, either medical or surgical, where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or in a case in which the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest. b. A non-covered abortion is an abortion, either medical or surgical, that is not a covered abortion. c. ART consists of only the following: (1) Ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval, including any needed medications and procedures required for retrieval, processing, and utilization for ART or cryopreservation. (2) Sperm collection and processing for ART or cryopreservation. (3) Intrauterine insemination (IUI). (4) In vitro fertilization (IVF) inclusive of the following procedures for beneficiaries when clinically indicated. (a) IVF with fresh embryo transfer. (b) Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT). (c) Zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT). (d) Pronuclear stage tubal transfer (PROST). (e) Tubal embryo transfer (TET). (f) Frozen embryo transfer. 7. Tracking Mechanisms. The DON will be tasked to report cost and usage of the administrative absence and funded travel policies authorized by reference (c), changes to reference (e), and this ALNAV. a. The tracking requirements in this message apply to DON organizations and Service Members assigned to DON organizations. The cost and usage by Sailors and Marines assigned to organizations in other DoD components will be tracked using the mechanisms established by those components. b. The Navy and Marine Corps are directed to provide plans to track days used for administrative absence to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs (ASN (M&A)) by 27 March 2023. The number of days used will be reported by the Service of the member, regardless of whether assigned to a Navy or Marine unit. Reports will include no Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) information and will not disclose the type of non -covered reproductive health care. (1) The Navy will be responsible for reporting use by Sailors, regardless of whether assigned to a Navy or Marine Corps unit. (2) The Marine Corps will be responsible for reporting use by Marines, regardless of whether assigned to a Navy or Marine Corps unit. c. The Navy and Marine Corps are directed to provide their plans to track cost and usage of travel and transportation allowances to the Office of the ASN (M&RA) by 27 March 2023. (1) The Marine Corps will be responsible for reporting usage by Service Members whose travel was funded by Marine Corps commands, regardless of the branch of the Service Member. (2) The Navy will be responsible for reporting usage by Service members whose travel was funded by Navy commands, regardless of the branch of the Service Member. (3) The reports will not include PII or HIPAA information. The reports will not specify whether the travel was for ART or a non-covered abortion. (4) The Navy and Marine Corps will be responsible for tracking and reporting the following information for each TDY period authorized: (a) Command name. (b) Branch of the Service Member (e.g., Navy, Marine Corps). (c) Fiscal quarter in which the travel completed. (d) Number of travel days used by the Service Member. Note that the days authorized or used by a dependent on the same trip may be more or less than this amount. Days of travel by non-Service Members are not required to be reported. (e) Total cost. A single cost is to be provided for the entire trip and inclusive of all authorized travelers. Do not break down costs by traveler or by any other basis. Provide the actual cost of the trip after travel claims are completed. 8. References (f) through (h) will be updated to conform with this policy. 9. I encourage you to visit the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center's, "Women's Health Toolbox," at https://www.med.navy.mil/Navy-Marine- Corps-Public-Health-Center/Womens-Health/ for additional information and resources on myriad women's health issues. Additional information on these policies can also be found at http://www.health.mil/ensuringaccesstoreproductivehealth. 10. Rest assured that the DON's work to implement the DoD's new policy is a priority. I expect cooperation from leaders across the Navy and Marine Corps to ensure appropriate input and efficient implementation of this new policy. 11. Released by the Honorable Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the Navy.// BT #0001 NNNN CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED//