In a letter to Tricare beneficiaries in the West Region, the director of the Defense Health Agency offered several steps to troubleshoot the transition to the new contractor, TriWest Healthcare Alliance.
Beneficiaries who use Tricare in the West Region now have more time to update their payment information.
On Jan. 1, TriWest Healthcare Alliance became the new West Region contractor, replacing Health Net Federal Services. Tricare also moved six states from the East Region to the West Region—they are Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin.
Humana Military remains the contractor for the East Region.
Defense Department leaders are focused on improving medical readiness and access to care in the Military Health System, the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs said.
“The [Defense Health Agency] is a new enterprise, … so we are in [a] growing stage,” Dr. Lester Martinez-Lopez said July 30 during an Association of the U.S. Army Noon Report webinar. “There are a lot of negotiations between the services and Defense Health Agency to make sure that … we're going to deliver the right care to every service member that is wounded or injured.”
An upcoming Association of the U.S. Army webinar will focus on how the Military Health System is working to improve care for service members, families and veterans.
Veterans in acute suicidal crisis can receive care at any emergency health care facility at no cost under a new Department of Veterans Affairs policy.
Effective Jan. 17, the new policy provides veterans access to acute care, including inpatient or crisis residential care for up to 30 days and outpatient care for up to 90 days, according to a news release from the VA. Veterans do not need to be enrolled in the VA system to use this benefit.
Six more military medical teams will be mobilized to help civilian hospitals stressed by a spike in COVID-19 cases, President Joe Biden announced Jan. 13.
Hundreds of medical service members are already augmenting hospital staffs across the country, in addition to thousands of National Guard troops who are supporting COVID-19 efforts in 49 states.
COVID-19 is “one of the most formidable enemies America has ever faced,” Biden said.
Military medical transformation, turning hospitals and clinics over to the Defense Health Agency, continues while COVID-19-related missions continue to be a major effort, the Army surgeon general told Congress.
The command team for Army Medical Command will speak April 12 at a webinar hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army.
Lt. Gen. R. Scott Dingle, the Army surgeon general, and Command Sgt. Maj. Diamond Hough, senior enlisted leader for Medical Command, will provide updates on COVID-19 vaccinations, talk about soldiers’ contributions to the fight against the disease, and discuss medical readiness.
When soldiers join the Army, they are bombarded with information about what it means to be a soldier.
The Pentagon continues to look for ways to provide service members and their families with access to counseling and other resources during the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.
“Our military family resources are especially critical during the pandemic,” Kim Joiner, deputy assistant secretary of defense for military, community and family policy, said recently during a virtual media roundtable. “To better serve our service members and their families during this challenging time, [we] significantly enhanced our support efforts in every aspect of our portfolio.”
