Health Care Happenings

You probably already know you can save 67% on preventive medications by using TRICARE’s Home Delivery system (you get 90 days’ medication for the same copay that buys you only 30 days in retail pharmacies).

But maybe you thought setting up a home delivery account would be too complicated.

Not so.  You can do it with one phone call to the TRICARE Pharmacy Member Choice Center at 877-363-1433.

You’ll talk to a real person who can:

• Set you up with a home delivery account
• Call your doctor for you and get your prescription switched to a 90-day fill
• Answer any questions you have about the process, including how to get started if you’ve already used up most of your current prescription
• Arrange to send you automatic refills so you’ll always receive them before you run out of medication
• Call Monday through Friday 7:00 AM to midnight, Eastern Time; Weekends and Holidays 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM Eastern Time

If you’d prefer to set up your account on-line, that’s also easy and takes only a few clicks of your mouse.   Just visit www.express-scripts.com/TRICARE and click on the pill bottle on the left side of the screen.

By investing 10 minutes, you can save yourself hundreds of dollars a year, and save yourself some hassles as well.

Retired military, veterans, military family members and solid American citizens who’ve never served often ask what they can do to support the troops. There are so many organization and individuals doing wonderful things for our troops that we sometimes lose sight of one of the most obvious things we can do  - donate blood!

For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, many blood banks struggle to keep blood levels even at minimal levels. During the hot summer months, it is common for blood donations to decrease. And while many donors look forward to well deserved fun and relaxation, the need for blood continues.

Some military members’ donations were deferred in the past because of fears of spreading diseases they may have come in contact with at earlier postings. However, those restrictions are constantly under review and you may find that you can donate now, even if you were deferred in the past. To review the current restrictions, click here: http://www.militaryblood.dod.mil/Donors/can_i_donate.aspx

The Armed Services Blood Program is making a special appeal this summer. “Your blood donation makes a very real difference to those who are deployed, ill or injured,” said Army Col. Francisco Rentas, director of the Armed Services Blood Program. “Just one hour of your time can ensure that we continually care for the members of the military community in need of blood.”

Making an appointment is easy. The Armed Services Blood Program operates more than 20 blood donor centers worldwide and their online scheduling system allows you to find and book an appointment at a blood drive that works with your busy schedule. If you have questions about the donation process, are looking for the donor center nearest your favorite vacation spot or want more information on common deferrals, please visit ASBP here: http://www.militaryblood.dod.mil/

Give blood today!

To learn more about the Armed Services Blood Program or to schedule an appointment, please visit them online: http://www.militaryblood.dod.mil. To interact directly with some of the ASBP staff or to get the latest news, visit them here: http://www.facebook.com/militaryblood.

This Post was originated by LtCol Shane Ostrom, USAF-Ret. It  first appeared on the MOAA Financial Frontlines Blog on April 18, 2011.

The program to remove Social Security numbers (SSNs) from military ID cards continues to roll along. The program actually began in 2009 and will continue through 2013 and become standard operating procedure from then on.

Do not rush to your closest ID card office to replace your cards. All ID cards will be replaced over the normal course of updating cards as they expire. Those with indefinite expiration dates (INDEF) may get a new card by making an appointment at your ID card office. If your expiration is INDEF, you can update your card at any time however, you probably want to wait until the final phase is implemented. See this web site to find your closest ID card office by zip code: http://www.dmdc.osd.mil/rsl/.

The program is planned to remove SSNs over time in 3 separate phases.

• Phase I started in 2009 with the removal of dependents’ printed SSNs from their ID cards. The sponsors’ SSNs remain for now.
• Phase II starts June 2011. This time all printed SSNs will be removed from the cards. The SSNs will be replaced by DOD ID numbers.
• Phase III is expected to begin in late 2012. This is the final phase. SSNs will be removed from the barcodes on the back of ID cards. At this point, no SSN will be on ID cards in any format.

Make sure you bring 2 forms of ID when you go to the ID card office—see this site for types of ID, http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf, and scroll to page 5. For those of you getting close to age 65, note your expiration date is just prior to your 65th birthday.

         How are you doing?

         Christmas is 2 days away.

How would you answer the following right about now?   Yes/No

1. Do you forget to laugh—No ho ho ho?                                ___ ___

2. When little things go wrong, does it ruin your day?            ___ ___

3. Do you constantly feel exhausted?                                      ___ ___

4. Do you hate it when the plan changes?                               ___ ___

5. Do you feel worried, nervous in your mind or body?             ___ ___

Did I miss a question that fits you better?

      Wishing you and your family a happy and stress-free holiday!

As a “grey area” reserve, I am thankful for one of MOAA’s significant legislative victories in this year’s defense bill.

Although authorized to begin on Oct. 1, 2009, TRICARE benefit changes typically take a year or so to implement so we anticipate seeing the tentatively named “TRICARE Retired Reserve” coverage by late summer or early fall 2010 as announced by TRICARE Officials earlier this week.

The retired reserve health care benefit will be provided under TRICARE Standard and Extra, similar to TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) but it differs in that it requires premiums equaling the full cost of the program; whereas, TRS premiums are 28% of the cost. We won’t know the exact cost of the premiums until the program rules are posted in the federal register.

What we do know is that the “grey-area” retiree will pay the retiree cost share/deductible and fall under the retiree catastrophic cap of $3000/family per FY. Additionally, they will be able to enroll as member only or member and immediate family.

We’ll keep you posted – so standby for further updates as we receive them!

Humm, thought I’d catch up on some reading while at the gym—so I pulled out my TRICARE Health Matters Newsletter, Issue 7: 2009 issue.

It was a pretty quick read and I flipped through the pages in short order. But when I got to the last page, for some reason, the box in the upper right hand corner of the back page spoke to me.

It said:

TRICARE
An Excellent Value
• Generous coverage
• Superior health care
• Decisions health driven, not insurance driven
• High satisfaction with care
• Low out-of-pocket costs
• Easy access

I struggled some with these words. Do you?

Humm, look forward to hearing your thoughts on “TRICARE—An Excellent Value”—Any after thoughts?