April 19, 2022

Pre-Authorization and Medical Necessity for Prescription Drugs: What You Need to Know

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Prescription drugs are tools meant to support your overall health. TRICARE has procedures to make sure you get the right prescription drug to treat your condition. You must sometimes work with your doctor to get approval for coverage of certain drugs. Two examples of this are pre-authorization (also known as prior authorization) and medical necessity.

April 7, 2022

Do You Need All 4 Parts of Medicare for TRICARE For Life?

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Do you have Medicare, or will you soon be eligible to enroll? Medicare has four Parts: A, B, C, and D. It’s important that you understand how each part differs and which parts you’ll need for TRICARE For Life (TFL).

April 5, 2022

New, Expanded Childbirth and Breastfeeding TRICARE Benefits for Expecting Parents

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Are you an expecting parent? Are you thinking of having a child? TRICARE is now providing more options to those who are planning to expand their family. As of Jan. 1, TRICARE added new childbirth and breastfeeding benefits under the Childbirth and Breastfeeding Support Demonstration (CBSD). CBSD is for those enrolled in TRICARE Prime and TRICARE Select in the U.S. under one of the TRICARE regional contractors.

March 29, 2022

How to Prevent and Treat Traumatic Brain Injuries

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — According to the Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence, nearly half a million service members have been diagnosed with a first-time traumatic brain injury (TBI) since 2000. Head injuries can happen anywhere. In fact, most TBIs happen when service members are in non-deployed settings. Here’s how you can be ready, and resources to help you prevent or recover from a brain injury.

March 22, 2022

How Referrals Work With Your TRICARE Prime Plan

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Are you enrolled in a TRICARE Prime plan? Then you have a primary care manager (PCM) to handle your basic primary health care services. But what if you need specialty treatment, like from a cardiologist to evaluate a possible heart problem or a dermatologist to check a mole that’s changed? In that case, your PCM needs to submit a referral for you to see a specialist.

Feb. 24, 2022

Tobacco and Your Oral Health

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — There’s a great deal of scientific information that proves using tobacco products is seriously harmful to your health. Nicotine products can increase your risks for cancer of the throat, lungs, and stomach. Also, tobacco products can negatively impact your oral health in several ways.

Feb. 15, 2022

Is Your DEERS Information Up to Date?

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — When is the last time you checked to see if your information in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) is up to date? If it’s been a while, take time to log in to DEERS and review your information. Keeping information on you and your family current in DEERS is important. Inaccurate information in the DEERS database could prevent you from being able to use your TRICARE benefits properly.

Feb. 10, 2022

What to Know About Preventive Dental Care

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — These days, it can be easy to forget to make an appointment to see the dentist for a routine checkup. Maybe you brush twice and floss every day.

Jan. 18, 2022

How to Get Urgent Care Under Your TRICARE Health Plan

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Do you have an injury or illness that isn’t quite serious enough for a trip to the emergency room? This might be the right time to go to an urgent care center. Most TRICARE beneficiaries can go to an urgent care center whenever they need to. You just want to be sure to check out and follow the urgent care rules for your health plan.

Dec. 20, 2021

Need Health Advice at Home? Chat With a Nurse 24/7

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — With the threat of flu season added to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, you might not want to go to the doctor’s office for a minor health issue. And with the Military Health System (MHS) Nurse Advice Line, you may not have to. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one of the best ways to prevent flu and COVID-19 is to avoid contact with people who are sick. With the MHS Nurse Advice Line, you can get health advice 24/7 from a registered nurse from the comfort of your home.