Essay about How TRICARE Affects the Military

Since its establishment in 1965 we have seen Medicare change as people’s needs change however being a federal program these changes do have an incredible amount of lag time. One of the first major changes to Medicare occurred in 1972 when President Nixon signed the Social Security Amendments of 1972 which extended coverage to individuals under age 65 with long-term disabilities, expanded benefits to include some chiropractic services and speech and physical therapy. During this time we see the American public growing tired of the Vietnam Conflict and lack of support and care for those returning Marines and soldiers with severe disabilities. As the protests escalate and the peace initiatives fail a key piece of legislation is signed showing government support and a willingness to extend health care benefits to this growing and vocal population of veterans (The Vietnam War, 1999). Also included in this Amendment is the encouragement of the use of Health Maintenance Organizations, President Nixon’s administration caught in the scandal of Watergate and pending hearings appeased the left and proposed the HMO Act, which Congress passed in 1973 (Phillips, 2003).

Tricare Standard - An option that provides flexible coverage for eligible beneficiaries. It allows beneficiaries to choose an authorized Tricare provider they desire. However; this option isn't available for active military members. Eligible participants include: family members of active military, retired military and their family, survivors, authorized past spouses, and Medal of Honor donee and their family. There are no monthly premiums, or fees to enroll but this plan does have an annual deductible and a cost-sharing or copay. If you're a Rank E4 and below the cost is $50 per person, $100 per family. Rank E5 and above the cost is $150 per person, $300 per family.

Over the past 15 years, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) has seen a dramatic increase in the average degree of disability, growth in the number of compensation recipients, a rise in the number of medical issues claimed and an increased level of complexity of claimed issues. To illustrate this point, prior to the September 2011 terrorist attacks, 333,700 Veterans received compensation at the 70-100 percent level; however, these figures rose to over 1.1 million by the end of 2013. Additionally, since 2009, VA’s disability compensation workload rose 132 percent. This is in large part due to an unprecedented demand resulting from over a decade of war, military downsizing, economic issues, increased outreach, the addition of presumptive conditions and an aging Veteran population.

One of the most serious problems facing all veterans today is the lack of proper healthcare. Soldiers, sailors and airmen are leaving active duty without having proper healthcare to cover their physical or mental injuries. The department responsible for veteran’s healthcare is the Department of Veterans Affairs. (VA) According to The department of Veterans Affairs website, “The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is responsible for administering programs of veterans’ benefits for veterans, their families, and survivors. The benefits provided include disability compensation, pension, education, home loans, life insurance, vocational

There is a large amount of military families around the world. About Forty- three percent of active military members have children (Website). These children face so many challenges and struggles in their life while having a parent in the military. Children of Active duty military members exhibit anxiety, depression and stress just as much as the service members and spouses experience. For instance the children experience going through multiple deployments, long separations, frequent moves and awkward reunions when their parents return home from deployment. Even more so if the parent has been physically or mentally traumatized from overseas.

Reauthorization of the Choice Act which was passed 3 years ago allows local community providers to allow members to receive health care within their community. The fundamental modifications to the Choice Act was the Vet Connect Act which follows the veterans medical information to their local providers so they can make a good decision based on patient. That way community providers can know precisely what medications the veteran is prescribed at the VA. Beto expresses the concerns he has about the treatment of military coming back with wounds and physiological trauma they have faced from war unlike during the Vietnam

The VA (Veterans Affair) Health Care System is one of the largest, most advanced health care networks in the U.S. The VA Health Care System is the provider for veterans, retirees and their dependents and manages all their health care. The VA Health Care is actually one part of the Department of Veterans Affairs. There is also VA Benefits Administration which has to do with compensations and pensions. Then the other part of the VA is the National Cemetery Administration which is in charge of the cemeteries and providing burial and memorial benefits. All these parts make up the Department of Veterans Affairs. (VA History)

Tricare or CHAMPUS is a health insurance program that is for spouses and dependents of active duty military personnel as well as retired military and their family.

What is TRICARE? A question that many of us really do not know how to answer. TRICARE is a major part of the Military Health System, its purpose is to combine the resources of military hospitals and clinics with civilian health care networks, provides access to high-quality health care, supports military operations and readiness. In order to participate in TRICARE benefits, beneficiaries must be enrolled in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) before you can reap these benefits.

Tricare, which was formerly known as the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services, is a health care program of the United States Department of Defense Military Health System. Tricare provides civilian health benefits for U.S Armed Forces military personnel, military retirees, and their dependents, including some members of the Reserve Component. There are three types of medical plans with Tricare: Standard, Extra, and Prime.

RICARE is a health benefit program for all uniformed service members, which include active duty, retired members, and their families. The seven uniform service members include: "the Army, Navy, Marines Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, Public Health Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration." (military.com). To be eligible for TRICARE Prime, all uniformed service sponsors and family members must be enrolled in the Defense Enrollment Reporting System (DEERS). Once you're eligible for TRICARE individuals can choose from different TRICARE health plans.

In the United States, soldiers are currently returning home from war broken and scarred. While some physical wounds are clearly visible others are often hidden/invisible to the naked eye, but men and women proudly wear these wounds as a badge of courage and honor for protecting our nation. These men and women come home rightfully expecting help, assistance and care and get hit with the reality of poor care from the Veteran Health Administration and Department of Defense.

TRICARE is a healthcare system designed specifically for any U.S military personnel to use as an insurance and any family member that is listed in the DEERS benefits list. In order to receive benefits the military person must be in active duty, must enroll in one of the following: TRICARE Prime, TRICARE Prime Remote, TRICARE Prime Overseas, TRICARE Global Remote Overseas; whichever is suitable to their current standing. The spouses and children of this individual can receive benefits as well, uniformed service retirees and their spouse and unmarried children are eligible, medal of honor recipients and their families. There are many distinct circumstances of when an individual can fall in the category of being eligible for the services or benefits

In care policies managed care indicators, online health insurance companies, and optimistic work with the welded doctors and psychosocial centers in the system process to provide medical care ranges for medical members. These pediatricians as well as the centers of medical agents make the attention system of unconscious subconscious policy. In highly managed treatment policies, you can choose to allow only the replacement of medical providers or military medical centers that are members of the corporate Internet policy

Tricare is the health care program for the Department of Defense Military Health System. They provide the funding for healthcare to military treatment facilities such as BAACH. The population that is currently funded for the entire Korean peninsula is only 29,321 and the population that is funded for Seoul is only 10,634. This is a significant delta in funding and is due to family members that are not projected to be in South Korea, retirees, and other mandated patients that receive healthcare on a space available basis. The delta creates issues for access to care standards to be met.