TRICARE Programs Saves, Increase Service

TRICARE is consolidating, updating and economizing to provide more efficient, cost-effective service to active, reserve and retired service members and their families. In order to support these objectives TRICARE enlisted the support of its users in a program called the Member Choice Center (MCC).

According to Austin Camacho a TRICARE spokesman, “One of our first MCC goals was to convert 60,000 retail prescriptions to the convenient mail order option. By reaching out to our customers,” said Mr. Camacho, “TRICARE successfully exceeded that goal, converting over 112,000 retail prescriptions to the mail order option (TMOP). As a result of the growth in mail order prescriptions beneficiaries saved an estimated $1.7 million, while the Department of Defense (DoD) saved approximately $20.2 million.

“We are excited and proud to see the proven results of TMOP and the MCC,” said Army Maj. General Elder Granger, deputy director, TRICARE Management Activity. “The new Member Choice Center provides excellent customer service, and the overall cost savings are a great benefit for both TRICARE beneficiaries and the DoD. It’s worth the switch.”

Nearly 350,000 beneficiaries enrolled in TMOP receive up to a 90-day supply of most medications for the same amount they would pay for a 30-day supply at a retail pharmacy. Some beneficiaries save as much as 66 percent on medications for conditions such as high blood pressure, asthma or diabetes. Enrollment in the mail order option is available at TRICARE Online.

“Another program that has been a great benefit to our users is our Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program or CAP,” said Mr. Camacho, “which is a program that provides technical support and equipment to its beneficiaries with disabilities, giving them access to electronic and information technology. It is a centrally funded program that buys and delivers the hardware, software and services that people with disabilities need to function in the workplace.”

The consolidated purchasing saves the government and users thousands of dollars.

“The technology makes the electronic environment accessible to and usable by individuals with hearing, visual, dexterity, cognitive and communications disabilities,” said CAP Director Dinah Cohen. “By using the Web and promoting e-Government, CAP customers can visit and see the different assistive technologies and request their accommodations – anywhere, anytime.”

TRICARE’s CAP program has won the Presidential Award for Management Excellence – the President's Quality Award for 2008.

One of the most important announcements by TRICARE is the savings that has been realized and is being passed on to Reservists through the TRICARE Reserve Select program.

“Now that TRS has been in place for several years, we were able to calculate premiums from actual cost data obtained in earlier years,” said Army Maj. Gen. Elder Granger, deputy director of TRICARE Management Activity. “It is important to provide high quality and affordable healthcare coverage for our National Guard and Reserve families.”

As a result, Monthly premiums for TRS individual coverage will drop 44% from $81.00 to $47.51, and TRS family coverage will drop 29% from $253.00 to $180.17.