TRICARE Prime Advantages

Standard- a fee for service plan that offers a lot of flexibility but you may have to pay at the time for service and then file to get reimbursement. You also pay a higher out of pocket cost verse the other plans but you can choose any authorized provider for the services you need this is one of the biggest advantages to choosing standard Tricare.

Managed care dominates health care in the United States. It is any health care delivery system that combines the functions of health insurance and the actual delivery of care, where costs and utilization of services are controlled by methods such as gatekeeping, case management, and utilization review. Different types of managed care plans came into development by three major factors. These factors include choice of providers, different ways of arranging the delivery of services, and payment and risk sharing. Types of managed care organizations include Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) which consist of five common models that differ according to how the HMO is related to the participating physicians, Preferred Provider Organizations

Medicare Parts A and B. There is a monthly premium for this coverage (Medicare 2013 costs at

Managed care plan is another significant health care plan that gives options that may either make it easy or limit medical care services by the patients. This is the type that most people embrace. It covers a wide spectrum of health services in a cheaper and most convenient way. Costs are relatively lower when patients utilize the doctors and other stake holders. Mostly this cover does not require one to fill out any insurance forms or give out any claims to the company that has given you the cover when one uses the in-network providers. One pays a co pay each time he visits the doctor or any hospital. This co pay varies depending on who you visit and whether you receive brand name or generic prescription drug. Various managed care plans adopt a mail-order pharmacy alternative. In this alternative, one sends for the doctor’s prescription for

Tricare Extra - This plan permits Tricare Standard beneficiaries to save money with doctors, clinics, and labs that are participating providers. To be eligible you must be retired and not registered with Tricare Prime or Tricare for Life. Certain family members, such as unmarried children, spouses, and survivors that are adequately registered with (DEERS) are covered by Tricare Extra. The annual deductible for retired military members contain a $150 per individual but not more than $300 per family.

Tricare Prime is a managed care plan similar to an HMO. This plan has Tricare Prime Remote, Tricare Prime Overseas and Tricare Global Remote Overseas. Tricare Extra is an alternative managed care plan for individuals who want to receive services primarily from civilian facilities and physicians rather than from military treatment facilities. Tricare for Life is a plan for beneficiaries who are both Medicare and Tricare eligible. Tricare Reserve Select is a premium based health plan available for purchase by certain members of the National Guard and Reserve activated on or after September 11,2001. Tricare Young Adult is a plan that can be purchased by qualified adult children after their regular Tricare coverage ends at age of twenty-one. Tricare is a secondary payer in almost all circumstances except Medicaid. The Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veteran Affairs (CHAMPVA) is the government’s health insurance program for the families of veterans with hundred percent service related disabilities. CHAMPVA provides coverage for most medically necessary services such as surgical procedures, anesthesia, chemotherapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, mental healthcare, prescription medications, maternity care, family planning, immunizations, durable medical equipment, hospice services and much more. CHAMPVA is usually the secondary payer except Medicaid and supplemental policy.

TRICARE supports the ability to cover medical costs when you are enrolled in any of the packages they offer. Under Prime, you are guaranteed an immediate appointment, often on the same day you are sick. Coverage includes preventive checks, such as pap spears, mammograms, and prostate screenings. Enrolling in the Prime program in a minimum of 12 months will establish your health care plan in TRICARE Prime. Other programs include TRICARE Extra, and TRICARE Standard; for the families who wish to seek civilian care from doctors and specialists from a select network in the local community, and for family members who wish to have civilian doctors provide their outpatient care, respectively. The latter two do not require you to enroll.

amount. The annual deductible can range from $0-$320 depending on the chosen plan of the

plan, you will typically have no deductible and the co-payments often range from $10 to $20

States have chosen to two forms of Medicaid managed care to better deliver healthcare services besides the traditional fee-for-service Medicaid programs; primary case management and traditional health maintenance organizations. “In primary care case management, the state Medicaid agency contracts with a primary gatekeeper entity (e.g., physician, clinic) that coordinates primary and specialty care for Medicaid beneficiaries. For healthcare maintenance type programs, a State Medicaid agency contracts with an existing healthcare maintenance organization, prepaid health plan, or other institutional health care provider who, in addition to proving primary care services, assumes insurance risk of providing covered services. Typically primary case management are paid on a fee-for-service basis plus a monthly case management fee per enrollee, while health maintenance organization plans are paid a capitation rate and are at full financial risk.” (1)

The first plan is Medicare A and it will cover any of your inpatient fees.

There are different plans with this program. They are called TRICARE Prime, Standard and Global Remote Overseas. Also, a Medicare program is available for retired military personnel, which is called TRICARE for Life. Each plan has different benefits and eligibility requirements.

Managed care has been adopted into the government funded care organizations. Medicare managed care plans provide all coverage themselves, including basic Medicare coverage. Managed care plans cover above and beyond the basic benefits of Medicare, the size of premiums and copayments, and the decisions about paying for treatment are controlled by the managed care plan. The basic premise of managed care is that the member/patient agrees to receive care from only a specific doctors and hospitals, in exchange for reduced healthcare costs. Medicare, like other insurance companies offer plans that give Medicare beneficiaries more choices in coverage, like HMO or PPO. Managed care has been used since the mid 1990’s in order to provide healthcare to beneficiaries with serious or life long illnesses. Today, managed care has become a way for states to provide quality care to both Medicaid and Medicare patients.

This paper is to provide an overview of TRICARE with its history, available insurance products, organization and number of enrollees.

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.