Health Care 150 • The Sergeant First Class Michael Clark TRICARE Reserve Parity Act extends eligibility for TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) from six months to three years for survivors of deceased members of the reserve components who were enrolled in TRS at the time of their deaths • Section 701 of the NDAA authorizes, but does not require, DoD to waive costsharing for the first three outpatient mental health visits each year for Active Duty family members and TRICARE Young Adult program beneficiaries • MOAA will continue its work on health care issues not included in the FY 2024 defense authorization bill, including parity for TRICARE Young Adults and an expanded dental benefit for reserve component servicemembers; these efforts will coincide with broader priorities such as access to care, risks to TRICARE networks and protecting TRICARE For Life For more details, visit MOAA.org/micro/tricare-guide-20232024. REGIONAL CONTRACTOR UPDATE Hawaii continues to fall in the 21 state TRICARE West Region. In 2022, the Defense Health Agency (DHA) awarded TriWest Healthcare Alliance (TriWest.com) a contract to administer the DoD’s next generation TRICARE program. However, Health Net Federal Services (HNFS.com) will continue to administer TRICARE West Region beneficiaries through the end of 2024. Rolling out in 2025 instead of 2024 as previously announced, TriWest’s “next generation” T-5 should find beneficiaries experiencing no disruptions to their TRICARE benefit during the transition period. The DHA will inform beneficiaries regarding any actions for 2025. TriWest held TRICARE contracts with the DoD from 1996 through 2013. The company’s prior experience and performance places it in solid positioning for successfully administering the next generation of T-5 contracts. Planning time is scheduled for one full year to ensure health care deliv-
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTcxMjMwNg==