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?
The TRICARE reputation is one of several areas that have declined for the US Armed Forces going back to the 1980s.
The 1980s was a decade that featured no recruiting crisis. The all volunteer military was working well, but the catastrophic military failure of 911 and decades of expensive/undeclared/unwon wars since then set things up for cutting back on the traditional benefits people thought they were earning when they reenlisted to go to far away places and maybe never come back again.
Back in 2014
American Legion:
“American Legion fights TRICARE increases Commander says troops, military retirees and their families should not be targeted in new efforts to cut federal costs. The leader of The American Legion says he strongly opposes White House pressures to raise the cost of TRICARE coverage for some military retirees. TRICARE is the Department of Defense’s health-care insurance program for uniformed servicemembers, military retirees and their family members.”
“As Military.com writer Richard Sisk reports, the White House, as part of 2014 defense budget discussions, is urging the Pentagon to slow the growth of TRICARE costs by phasing in an increase in the TRICARE Prime plan’s current enrollment fee for working age retirees as well as raising co-pays for military retirees under the age of 65.”
Camp Lejeune North Carolina
Local Tricare offices to see shift in services rendered
The Daily News
THOMAS BRENNAN Daily News Staff Jan 14, 2014
“Walk-in services at Camp Lejeune’s Tricare office soon will be a thing of the past.”
“Administrative tasks such as in and out-processing and changing primary care providers, all things that can be done on the Tricare website, will no longer be available as in-person services aboard local bases as of April 1, according to Pentagon officials. Beneficiaries will also be required to process their billing related questions online rather than in person. According to Tricare, this switch will allow them to save more than $250 million over the next five years.”
2025
Today, TRICARE has a reputation for broken web sites, tortuous internet protocols and long phone wait times at understaffed call centers.
Thousands of American families have now had a loved one who did one or more tours in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Will they support new enlistments?
In the News
It’s time for a reckoning at Defense Health Agency over Tricare
Story by Kristi Cabiao – Air Force Times
April 10, 2025
“On Jan. 1, Tricare – the essential health care benefit serving millions of service members, retirees and their families – entered a new cycle of contracts for managing the military’s health care system. This transition, intended to improve efficiency and service, has instead exposed Tricare to systemic failure, mismanagement and what increasingly appears to be gross negligence.”
“Since the launch, families across the country have experienced a catastrophic disruption in care. Enrollment errors have left beneficiaries uninsured. Surgical procedures have been canceled when hospitals couldn’t verify prior authorization. Chronically ill patients have struggled to find providers to maintain life-sustaining treatment. For many military children with disabilities, years of hard-fought progress are at risk of being erased because therapy appointments were abruptly stopped.”
“The source of these failures lies not only with the regional contractors – Humana Military (East) and TriWest Healthcare Alliance (West) – but with the Defense Health Agency (DHA), which bears full responsibility for contract oversight and system accountability.”
“It is clear DHA either ignored the lessons of the past or failed to learn from them. In 2019, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) warned that the previous Tricare transition in 2017 was marred by weaknesses in transition guidance and oversight. GAO’s recommendations were either poorly implemented or ignored – and now military families are paying the price.”
Welcome Home Troops
In a recent survey conducted by Mission Alpha Advocacy, families report spending hours on hold with Tricare contractors – only to be disconnected or told to “call back later.”
“And what has been lost in the chaos is trust. Trust between families and their health care system. Trust between providers and the military medical infrastructure they have long supported. And perhaps most critically, trust between the force and the leaders responsible for ensuring military readiness.”
“Resilience – the ability of military families to withstand constant relocations, deployments and separation – relies on predictable support systems. When families move to a new duty station and discover their Tricare benefits are inaccessible, resilience becomes even more difficult.”
“And retention? It evaporates when military families feel neglected. No incentive pay or patriotic appeal can convince a family to stay if the health care system that serves them is broken beyond repair.”
What became of enlisted leaders?
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.
If you did your homework back in May of 2024, you remember:
“We are committed to keeping all of our military families informed about your health plan, your choices, and ensuring a seamless transition to new contractors,” said Lt. Gen. Telita Crosland, director of the DHA.
Source:
TRICARE Newsroom May 15, 2024
Q&A: What To Know as New TRICARE Contracts Begin in 2025
By TRICARE Communications
Original deadline:
The Defense Health Agency (DHA) and the two regional contractors in the East Region and West Region are currently transitioning to these new contracts to ensure health care delivery is ready for all beneficiaries on Jan. 1, 2025.
“…new contracts will improve health care delivery, quality, and access for beneficiaries living in the United States.”
It would be good to hear from the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on this.
1980s
Taking care of the troops was a big deal at one time. No recruiting crisis. What the hell happened?
Currently serving leadership brought us:
Military Barracks Blasted Over Horrid Living Conditions, Lack of Accountability
MOAA SEPTEMBER 25, 2023
From a Jan 14th blog
Elected officials:
Stop kissing veteran ass on Armistice Day and every other chance you get. Stop with the “Thanks for your service” nonsense.
People volunteered to go to far away places and maybe never come back again.
Go to work to smooth out the process they face when they need to call and manage whatever benefits they earned.
Older veterans have influence with kids, grandkids and younger members of the community. Do right by them if you ever hope to dig out of your US Armed Forces recruiting crisis.
This whole thing should be no more tricky to use than an Amazon account.
Photo at top of page:
Symbol of Support The Troops nonsense rolled out for federal holidays.
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.