Welcome Home Troops
The TRICARE program has been allowed to crash and burn this year. Sorry about that.
Questions for elected officials:
Any report of TRICARE up and running smoothly in 2025?
Does the new TRICARE contract include penalties for not running smoothly on Jan 1st?
Do they all get paid the same whether customers are happy or not?
Pick a decade anytime after the war in Vietnam. No matter what political party or personality is in the White House, Uncle Sam struggles to get veterans health care to work properly. Moms, Dads, Grandparents, and young people have access to this info.
Recruiting crisis for Uncle Sam? Elected officials and top Pentagon Generals earned it.
In The News
Troops need better health care access, top enlisted tell lawmakers
By Karen Jowers
Apr 8, 2025 – Marine Corps Times
“When care isn’t available in the military treatment facilities, beneficiaries rely on civilian networks. However, limited resources have affected care delivery, provider recruitment and Tricare’s ability to compete in the civilian insurance market, Honea said, adding that Tricare’s reimbursement rates are tied to Medicare rates and are often too low for providers.”
Uncle Sam is not paying the bills:
“Honea also noted complications with the new Tricare contracts have delayed claims processing and damaged civilian medical providers’ trust in their timely payment.”
TRICARE has earned a reputation:
“Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., said the continued payment problem could result in some providers leaving the Tricare network. He cited one provider who is owed about $100,000 from Tricare.”
Welcome Home Troops
“Military families have reported extensive issues with health care access since the new Tricare contracts began in January, which have caused medical shortfalls for some families and some providers dropping Tricare patients because of the difficulties, Military Times previously reported.”
Military suicide has been a thing for years now and this is what you get:
“For instance, some Marines are having to seek out mental health care from civilian providers because there aren’t enough mental health providers in military treatment facilities, Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Carlos Ruiz told lawmakers. Because there are few providers and appointments available in the civilian community, they may have to wait 45 to 60 days to get the help they need, Ruiz said.”
Notice that elected officials have not taken the initiative to fix TRICARE problems that have dragged on since Jan first. They sit and listen to requests to take e action in April of 2025.
Not here to say that military benefits are inadequate. Just stick with whatever was offered when people signed up to stay on for multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and we’re good.
The US Dept. of Defense has really taken a dive since the 1980s. I’ll do a blog on that later.
Naval Hospital Bremerton in the news:
Decade of reductions at Naval Hospital Bremerton push out retirees, beneficiaries
Conor Wilson – Kitsap Sun April 3, 2025
“Over the last decade, the hospital has been gutted, leaving a major gap in the local health care sector and bogging down local providers. As large numbers of military retirees and beneficiaries are forced out of the military system, they increasingly find themselves searching for care in an overburdened civilian sector desperately short on providers and struggling to provide access to routine care.”
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray:
“This pattern of declining care and personnel mismanagement at one of the largest Naval bases in the nation suggests a lack of attention to the healthcare needs of servicemembers, veterans, and their families in Kitsap County.”
“Kitsap County has a shortage of primary care providers, with about half as many per capita as the state average in 2023, according to Washington Health Care Research Center.”
Ask A Recruiter
“Reductions at Naval Hospital Bremerton over the last decade come as the Department of Defense, the federal agency that runs the military health system, has reduced spending on health care. As part of a major realignment designed to shed costs, it has prioritized operational readiness for wartime missions and care for those on active duty over that of beneficiaries and retirees.”
“Civilian providers say they are increasingly shouldering the load left by the Navy. The result is worse access across the board for primary, maternal and specialty care for all residents, including those not connected to the military. Shortages are driving up hospital bills, as more people depend on emergent care, and likely leading to worse outcomes for Kitsap patients.”
“Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, who own St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale and St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor, has seen “increased demand as military health care facilities have adjusted their offerings over the years,” St Michael President Chad Melton wrote in an email.”
“…military health care facilities have adjusted their offerings…”
Politician speak will take you to the highest levels.
Thousands of men and women who did time in uniform over the past 25 years did one or more tours in places like Syria, Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kosovo. Some stayed for 20.
Now, these people are told that the benefits they thought they were earning when reenlisting for another tour are going away in order to save money. WTF?
Same country that sent big cash to Ukraine several times over in 2024.
Today, Uncle Sam needs more people to volunteer to go to far away places and maybe never come back again.
Good luck with your US Armed Forces recruiting crisis.
Mixed Messages
Photo-
Symbol of the world’s most powerful military force and elected officials promoting “Thanks for your service” nonsense in place of taking care of business.
Post-Vietnam guilt
The guilt doesn’t seem to work towards staying out of undeclared/unwon wars or managing federal contracts related to TRICARE.
A giant flag ritual at the next ball game will make it all good.