Verbatim from the TRICARE.mil website
If you missed TRICARE Open Season, you still have time to enroll. For this year only, you can enroll in or change your TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Select plan through Dec. 31, 2018 for coverage starting on Jan. 1, 2019. You may also change your type of enrollment, like switching from individual to family coverage. (more…)
In the improbable event those of you who are an affected TRICARE user and have not been notified — and since state officials have asked us to circulate this information, we are providing the following bulletin:
The Department of Defense has announced there are now only two TRICARE Regions as of 1 January 2018. The North and South Regions have combined to form the new TRICARE East Region, while the West Region remains mostly the same. Humana Military is the new regional contractor for TRICARE East, and Health Net Federal Services, LLC, is managing TRICARE West. Originally, Health Net Federal Services managed our area.
Why are we mentioning this? While some of you using TRICARE Prime may have been notified already – and Humana has stated that during the transition you will be able to see your new or previously assigned Primary Care Manager (PCM) – the transition period is not stated upfront, and a change of PCM may have already been made for you. That should be worth your finding out now, according to one of Healthcare in Our Community Co-Chairs, Alexander Alex. (more…)
At a press conference on November 11 at Bethlehem’s City Council Chamber, President of LVMAC, Gerald Still, Retired Major General (USAF), announced the Healthcare in Our Community (HOC) alliance has remained strong and viable and has grown going into its fifth year. Still said, “The commitment of the CEOs of the participating organizations in this working alliance has been remarkable and necessary. Our sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, continue to return to an environment where there are no major military medical facilities close to home. It is absolutely critical that we continue to work with one another and the local VA to meet the short- and long-term needs of our military veterans.” (more…)
We are in the era of tablets and smartphones. To take advantage of this new technology, the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Health Administration (VHA) has recently arrived on the healthcare mobile applications (apps) scene. We believe their products may prove useful to veterans, caregivers and medical professionals, but they are not alone in producing such products. (more…)
Walk-in Service to TRICARE Service Centers within the United States is ending 1 April, this year. TRICARE service centers overseas are not affected. Joint Base Dix-Maguire-Lakehurst’s service center is among the 189 facilities affected. (more…)
In an August 14, 2013 News Release, TRICARE announced that its TRICARE For Life (TFL) beneficiaries may incur higher costs for treatment when using a VA healthcare facility effective October 1 – if the condition for which they are being treated is not related to their service-connected disability.
It states that after October 1, 2013, “as part of the intake process at VA facilities … TFL beneficiaries will be asked if they’re using their VA or TFL benefit or if they have other health insurance (OHI). When electing to use their TFL benefit at the VA, they will also be informed they must pay the remained bill after TRICARE pays its portion of the TRICARE-allowable charge. They may be asked to sign a form indicating they understand their responsibility.” (more…)
Pending Payday Lending Legislation: A Debt Trap for Military Veterans
General Announcements
Homelessness
Scholarship Program
Community Educational Outreach
PTSD Booklet for Families
Healthcare in Our Community
Veterans Supportive Colleges Initiative
DoD/VA News
Go to the Forward Observer article on payday lending to read what Kerry Smith told the Council at its 20 March business meeting. (more…)
As a result of the enacted Fiscal Year National Defense Authorization Act of 2013, beginning this February new copayments for prescription drugs purchased through TRICARE off-base are about to go into effect. Off-base TRICARE Pharmacy copays will continue to vary based upon class of drug and where beneficiaries choose to fill their prescriptions. (more…)