FALLS CHURCH, Va., Sept. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Hurricane Katrina displaced more than 136,000 military personnel and family members in the Gulf Coast region two weeks ago. TRICARE, the Department of Defense agency responsible for managing the military's health care plan, has been working diligently to ensure its beneficiaries have access to medical care during recovery operations.
"We will continue to take care of our beneficiaries as we move forward into post-Katrina recovery," said Dr. David N. Tornberg, MPH, acting deputy director of TRICARE Management Activity. "The health and welfare of our beneficiaries are always at the forefront of everything we do."
TRICARE has implemented various initiatives to assist displaced beneficiaries with their health care needs:
* The waiver of pharmacy copays has been extended through Sept. 30, 2005, for beneficiaries affected by Hurricane Katrina who are unable to pay it. * Humana Military Health Services, TRICARE's regional contractor in the Gulf Region, dispatched staff to various evacuee sites to provide one- on-one counseling for affected beneficiaries. They are advising them how to access care and answer questions about their health benefit options. * On Sept. 12, TRICARE delivered materials such as wallet cards, fact sheets and benefit overviews to evacuee sites, MTFs and TRICARE Service Centers, that list customer service contacts, phone numbers, Web sites and special benefits for hurricane victims.
Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule, providers at MTFs and in the TRICARE network may share Katrina-affected patients' information with other providers as necessary to provide care. This includes sharing prescriptions, lab results and X-rays with other providers, hospitals and clinics; referring patients for treatment in areas where they have relocated; and coordinating care with others, such as emergency relief workers, to find appropriate health services for patients.
TRICARE is continuously reevaluating its ongoing relief efforts and partnering with its regional contractors to ensure beneficiaries' needs are being met. If future relief programs or extensions of current efforts are needed, TRICARE will make those decisions as necessary to help beneficiaries recover from the hurricane.
Beneficiaries should call the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System Support Office at 1-800-538-9552 to update their family members' information, including address changes, to maintain access to TRICARE benefits.
In addition, beneficiaries seeking information about their TRICARE benefits may call the regional contractors: Humana Military Healthcare Services (South region), 1-800-444-5445; HealthNet (North region), 1-877-874-2273; or TriWest (West region), 1-888-874-9378, or visit the TRICARE Web site, http://www.tricare.osd.mil/katrina.
Beneficiary counseling and assistance coordinators, debt collection assistance officers, TRICARE service centers and family support representatives at local military installations are also available to help active duty military personnel and their families.
Other resources available include Military One Source at 1-800-342-9647 or http://www.militaryonesource.com.
TRICARE Management ActivityCONTACT: Linda N. Foote, Deputy Director, Communications and CustomerService, of TRICARE Management Activity, Department of Defense, HealthAffairs, +1-703-681-1765, linda.foote@tma.osd.mil
Web site: http://www.tricare.osd.mil//
