"...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..."