WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Defense Department officials have made "tremendous efforts and strides" to meet the needs of reservists and guardsmen who now qualify for health-care coverage under the Tricare program, the program manager said June 8.
The recent introduction of new patients into the Tricare system presents "a challenge," but DOD is being "very attentive" to the needs of new Tricare participants, said Dr. David Tornberg, acting deputy director of the Tricare Management Activity and deputy assistant secretary of defense for clinical and program policy.
Thousands of reservists and guardsmen and their families became eligible to purchase health-care insurance through Tricare in late April.
Congress authorized the new benefit, called Tricare Reserve Select, for reserve component servicemembers under the fiscal 2005 National Defense Authorization Act. The plan is designed to serve as a bridge for reserve-component troops leaving active duty who are not covered by civilian employer or other health insurance plans, defense officials said.
Tricare Reserve Select is available to all reserve component troops who have been activated since Sept. 11, 2001, served supporting a contingency operation and agree to continued service in the Selected Reserve.
To help ensure that licensed physicians across the nation accept these and other Tricare patients, Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, sent letters to national and state medical associations last August, seeking their support. The letter urged the associations to contact their members and encourage them to become Tricare providers and to treat "America's heroes -- the people making sacrifices to keep our country safe and strong."
In addition, the Tricare Management Activity is surveying 20 U.S. metropolitan areas to determine what Tricare resources are available and whether they are sufficient to meet the current need, said Maj. Michael Shavers, a Pentagon spokesman.
The survey results will help DOD officials identify areas where beneficiaries may run into difficulties getting access to Tricare services and to help resolve those problems, Major Shavers said.
A similar survey was conducted last year, as required by the 2004 National Defense Authorization Act legislation.
As DOD officials work to increase the number of Tricare providers and improve access to the network, Dr. Tornberg said that 80 percent of guardsmen and reservists called to active duty already are covered by another form of health insurance.
After 30 days on active duty, they qualify for full benefits under the Tricare system -- a system Dr. Tornberg said "has one of the most generous and robust benefits available in the health insurance market."
Legislation introduced in the Senate would further expand health-care benefits for guardsmen and reservists by allowing them to enroll in the program for a monthly premium, regardless of their duty status. Defense Department officials are studying the legislation, Dr. Tornberg said.
More information about Tricare, including a description of services available by location, is available on the Tricare Web site.