TRICARE is the health insurance program. Active-duty personnelMilitary retirees, reservists, and their families will lose more than 25% of its pharmacies later in the month. This will make it possible for an estimated 400,000 beneficiaries find new pharmacies.
Nearly 15,000 community pharmacies, which are independently owned and operated by volunteers, will be leaving the TRICARE network effective October 24. It will still contain more than 40,000 pharmacies throughout the country.
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Families of military personnelThey were informed about the reduction in coverage last month. According to the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), military families living in rural areas will feel the most impact from the change. These families were already affected by Walmart/Sam’s club leaving the TRICARE network last January.
MOAA estimates that almost 400,000 beneficiaries will need to locate other pharmacies due to the change. This is approximately 4% of TRICARE-eligible populations.
Charlie Dietz, spokesperson for the Pentagon, stated that TRICARE will continue “to meet or exceed” its standards in pharmacy access.
Jill Biden, the First Lady, poses for photos with military personnel and their family members at Joint Base Charleston, North Charleston, South Carolina on October 25, 2021.
(REUTERS/Randall Hill)
He said that beneficiaries will still have access to many local, convenient in-network options for filling prescriptions, even if they live in rural areas. Nearly 95 per cent of beneficiaries will still have access to at most two network pharmacies within 15 mins from their home. 99.8 per cent will have access within 30 seconds.
According to the National Community Pharmacists Association, the decision to remove smaller pharmacies from the network was made after Express Scripts (TRICARE’s pharmacy contractor) reduced pharmacy reimbursement rates until it became “impossible” for many independent community pharmacies in the TRICARE pharmacy system.
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In September, the group requested that its members sign on to a letter asking for reasons why the program is being discontinued. It is more difficult for beneficiariesTo access pharmacy services. Express Scripts’ actions, according to the group, “take away pharmacy choice” and create disruptions for TRICARE beneficiaries.
