Military Health, Tricare programs - Army Times

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Health


Current and former service members and their families use the Defense Department and Department of Veterans Affairs health care systems to handle their care needs. In this section, you’ll find information on the various Tricare programs, including the Tricare for Life system, as well as information on ongoing health care concerns such as Agent Orange and Gulf War illness, along with general information on navigating the health care system bureaucracy.
  • Vets’ group: Link between TBI, blindness needs more attention
    A few days after the blast from a mortar round almost threw him off the Hadithah Dam in Iraq three years ago, Navy Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Glenn Minney reported to sick call with a headache and...
  • Disability ratings improving, critics say
    A year after Walter Reed Army Medical Center emerged as a symbol of what is wrong with the administrative end of the military medical retirement system, much has changed for the better, critics say.
  • Automation could speed VA claims
    Artificial intelligence — already used to process private-sector insurance claims, handle banking transactions and double-check medical procedures — might be the solution to help veterans...
  • On the mend
    When Lt. Col. Chip Pierce served as troop commander at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, he said, he was “frustrated” by some of the issues he saw his injured soldiers face as they...
  • Study: Returning soldiers wait to seek mental health help
    A new Army study finds that soldiers returning from Iraq are more likely to report mental health problems several months later rather than immediately after their return — and reserve component...
  • Lawmaker: Be patient over wounded benefits
    The Democratic point man for veterans’ issues in the House of Representatives is asking wounded service members and their families to be patient while they wait for radical reform of the...
  • Disability fight over Agent Orange revisited
    Jonathan Haas says that he often saw large, billowing clouds of the defoliant Agent Orange drift from the shore and engulf his ship, the Mount Katmai, in 1968.
  • Vets urge more action on Gulf War syndrome
    A group of Persian Gulf War veterans told House lawmakers they feel overlooked with all of the focus on benefits and treatment for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Specialists, patients critical of PTSD care
    Experts told the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee that reliable methods exist to immediately diagnose and treat post-traumatic stress disorder — but they’re not used.
  • Studies identify faults in disability benefits system
    As members of the Veterans’ Disability Benefits Commission wrestle with simplifying the disability benefits systems of the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, they have found they...
  • Lawyer: Disability system unfair to injured
    The Army disability retirement system stacks the deck against injured soldiers by forcing them to prove they have post-traumatic stress disorder, demanding physical evidence for traumatic brain...

Tricare


  • Reservists overcharged for Tricare, GAO says
    National Guard and reserve members pay Tricare premiums that are 72 percent too high for single coverage and 45 percent too high for family coverage, the Government Accountability Office says in a...
  • Choose a health care plan that meets your needs
    One of the first things on a new retiree’s checklist after leaving active duty is getting health care.
  • Tricare Prime Remote
    Tricare Prime Remote is an option for service members who live and work more than 50 miles from the nearest military treatment facility. Family members are eligible if they live with the member in a...
  • Agent Orange
    Veterans who believe they have health problems stemming from exposure to herbicides during the Vietnam War can get free exams at VA hospitals and clinics.
  • Alcohol
    The military offers inpatient or outpatient alcohol treatment at almost every installation.
  • Continued Health Care Benefit Program
    Service members leaving the military before retirement can buy a government-sponsored insurance plan for themselves and their families to help pay medical bills until they find private-sector jobs.
  • DEERS
    Access to military medical programs is controlled by the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System.
  • Fisher House
    The military and the nonprofit Fisher House Foundation provide some relief for active-duty and retiree families with a loved one who is seriously ill or critically injured, providing temporary...
  • AIDS
    All prospective recruits, active-duty members and reservists are tested for the human immune deficiency virus that causes AIDS. If an initial test is positive, it’s repeated to confirm the...
  • Gulf War illness
    More than 200,000 veterans have been seen in military or Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities for care related to their service in the Persian Gulf War. Both the VA and the Defense...
  • Illicit drugs
    Service members are tested for drugs when they join the military and then randomly throughout their careers.
  • Long-term care insurance
    Active-duty and retired service members, federal employees and retirees may purchase long-term care insurance for themselves and their families through the Office of Personnel Management’s...
  • Malpractice
    A 1950 Supreme Court ruling known as the “Feres doctrine” forbids active-duty people from suing the government for medical malpractice or almost any other reason.
  • Medicare/senior care
    Most military retirees become eligible for Medicare health benefits when they turn 65. However, some qualify for Medicare much earlier because they have certain disabilities. In either case, Tricare...
  • Privacy Act
    As a rule, the services must comply with federal laws regarding the confidentiality of medical records. Under the Privacy Act, patients have the right to see and obtain a copy of their health care...
  • Tobacco
    Since the early 1980s, the Defense Department’s tobacco-cessation crusade has succeeded in reducing the number of smokers and those who use smokeless tobacco (although the military’s...
  • Uniformed Services Family Health Plan
    Military beneficiaries — including retirees 65 or older, their dependents and the dependents of active-duty members who live near former Public Health Service hospitals — are eligible to...
  • Veterans’ benefits
    Most military retirees, as well as veterans who did not stay in the military for a full career, must apply for enrollment in the Department of Veterans Affairs health system to receive VA health care...
  • Tricare Glossary
    Authorized health care providers who do not participate in Tricare still are limited in what they can charge military patients for services. Under federal law, authorized health care providers can...
  • Dental — Active duty and reserve
    Active-duty dependents and members of the Selected Reserve and Individual Ready Reserve and their family members worldwide are eligible for Tricare Dental Program coverage. United Concordia Companies...
  • Dental — Retirees
    Military retirees and their families are eligible to join the Tricare Retiree Dental Program. In addition to those entitled to retired pay, those eligible include “gray area” reservists...
  • Supplemental insurance
    Supplemental insurance plans are available to pick up expenses that remain after Tricare pays its share of covered benefits.
  • Disabled — ECHO program
    The military health system and the Department of Veterans Affairs have programs that are available to military family members with disabilities. A Tricare initiative called the Extended Care Health...
  • Home health
    Tricare offers home health care benefits, including coverage of medical equipment, supplies, certain therapies and nursing care to homebound patients whose conditions make home visits necessary.
  • Maternity
    Tricare covers maternity care, including prenatal care, delivery costs, inpatient care of the newborn and mother, and care of the baby immediately after birth. Inpatient and outpatient delivery is...
  • Mental health
    Each of the services has psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers to help those with mental health and emotional issues. Therapy programs at military installations range from individual,...
  • Pharmacy program
    Military beneficiaries can get drugs free at military clinics or hospital pharmacies. For a fee of $3 for a generic and $9 for a brand name, they can get a 30-day supply at participating Tricare...
  • Health care
    The military’s Tricare health care system uses a combination of military hospitals, clinics and civilian professionals to treat service members, reservists, retirees and their families.
  • Tricare Prime
    Prime is the military’s health maintenance organization, which has lower out-of-pocket costs but places restrictions on an individual’s choice of providers and facilities. Since the wars...
  • Tricare Extra
    Extra is a preferred-provider option, a system that contracts with health care providers to supply services at discounted fees. Doctors and other providers agree to join a network and see Tricare...
  • Tricare Standard
    Standard is modeled after a traditional fee-for-service health plan. Authorized doctors, hospitals and other providers are paid a specific amount for each service performed. Individuals may choose...
  • Tricare for Life
    Medicare and Tricare both play a role in health coverage for older retirees. Most military retirees become eligible for Medicare at age 65. Medicare Part A covers hospitalization and sometimes...
  • Tricare Reserve Select
    Members of the Selected Reserves can buy Tricare coverage when they are in drilling status — not mobilized — provided they meet specific criteria under a program called Tricare Reserve...
  • Tricare Plus
    Tricare Plus allows military beneficiaries who are not in an HMO to enroll at a military clinic or hospital for primary care only. They do not pay a fee and cannot be guaranteed specialty care, but...
  • Reservists must re-enroll in Tricare by Sept. 30
    Members of the National Guard and reserve who are enrolled in Tricare Reserve Select must take action before Sept. 30 to ensure their health care coverage is not dropped, due to the advent of a...

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