"...About 35,000 military retirees will soon receive cash refunds from Tricare, thanks to a policy change made last year that affects how Tricare calculates annual out-of-pocket maximum payments.
The rebates impact retirees with Tricare Prime who paid more than $2,400 out of pocket towards their annual maximum payment in 2018 and 2019. They do not impact Tricare for Life or Tricare Retired Reserve users...."
"...Troops would see a 1.8 percent pay raise and Tricare users would see their fees unchanged under a budget bill proposed by House Republicans on Tuesday...
Pentagon leaders have also insisted that modest increases to Tricare fees for military retirees are needed to help keep the health care system solvent, but Congress has rejected all such attempts in recent years.
The draft legislation would reject all plans to increase Tricare Prime enrollment fees, pharmacy co-pays, or enrollment fees for Tricare services.
In a statement, members of the House Armed Services personnel subcommittee said the proposals are designed to support troops and their families “with the care and benefits they need, deserve, and have earned.”..."
"...Two Republican lawmakers introduced a bill Tuesday that would require the Defense Department to offer the Tricare Prime managed health care option in places where the department plans to discontinue the program on Oct 1.
The “Keep Faith with Tricare Prime Act,” sponsored by Rep. John Kline of Minnesota and Texas Rep. Mac Thornberry would provide a one-time choice for affected military retirees and their families to stay on Prime or choose Tricare Standard. In a release, Kline said the bill “ensures our veterans are given the choice they earned.”...
The Pentagon announced earlier this year it will shrink Tricare Prime areas to within 40 miles of active or former military bases, a move that will force 173,000 retirees and family members to switch to Tricare Standard..."
"...The TRICARE Management Activity has a new online tool for retirees under age 65 and surviving spouses to verify if their Prime network will end Oct. 1, forcing them to use TRICARE Standard.
With the new fiscal year, managed care networks operating beyond 40 miles of military treatment facilities or base closure sites will be halted under next-generation TRICARE support contracts. The change, to impact 171,000 beneficiaries, is intended to cut TRICARE costs for taxpayers.
At the TRICARE Prime Service Area website, TRICARE users can type in their zip code and learn whether their Prime service area will exist after Sept. 30..."
"...The military's managed-care option -- TRICARE Prime -- will be ended Oct. 1 for retirees, their family members and for military survivors who reside more than 40 miles from a military treatment facility or from a base closure site, TRICARE Management Activity announced Wednesday.
Most of these 171,400 beneficiaries will need to shift health coverage from Prime to TRICARE Standard, the military's fee-for-service health insurance option. For beneficiaries who use more than preventive health care during the year, the shift will mean higher out-of-pocket costs..."