Sometimes certain types of specialty care and prescription drugs require special review called prior authorization to make sure they are right for the patient. Prior authorization is a standard process throughout the health industry. If a procedure or drug requires prior authorization, it may be because there is an equally effective treatment or therapy available at a lower cost. Prior authorization applies to more than 80 drugs under the pharmacy benefit and some compound drugs. TRICARE requires you to use the generic version of the drug, but prior authorization lets your doctor provide evidence to show that the brand name works better for you. For more information, visit TRICARE's prior authorization webpage. You can check the status of your request for prior authorization on the Express Scripts' website.
For more on TRICARE, visit the Military.com TRICARE section.
