Should Veterans Use Tri-Care Coverage?

Over the last decade, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have drastically increased the need for effective mental health services and treatment for U.S. veterans and service members, especially those suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Nearly 1.5 million American service members have been deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) since the attack on the Twin Towers in September 2001 (Price, Gros, Strachan, Ruggiero, & Acierno, 2013). Approximately 25% of soldiers and wounded warriors returning home from OEF/OIF present with mental illness due to combat-related violence and other trauma exposure (Steinberg & Eisner, 2015). According to Price and colleagues (2013), OEF/OIF soldiers and veterans are at greater risk for developing mental illness compared to others who served in past military operations.

Tricare Extra - This plan permits Tricare Standard beneficiaries to save money with doctors, clinics, and labs that are participating providers. To be eligible you must be retired and not registered with Tricare Prime or Tricare for Life. Certain family members, such as unmarried children, spouses, and survivors that are adequately registered with (DEERS) are covered by Tricare Extra. The annual deductible for retired military members contain a $150 per individual but not more than $300 per family.

Alcohol use and abuse is prevalent among members of the United States military as well as among the veteran population. Binge and heavy drinking is commonplace among the military and veterans. Veterans and members of the active duty military face a unique set of challenges when compared to the civilian population. There is a trend of combat exposure leading to a higher risk to abuse alcohol. For over a decade the United States military was involved in combat operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). This has lead to a generation of service men and women as well as veterans with a host of physical and mental injuries as a result multiple combat deployments. There are many veterans and active duty personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as traumatic brain injuries (TBI) as a result of their deployment in support of OIF and OEF. There is a link between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and a higher potential for the abuse of alcohol. Veterans and members of the armed forces deal with a host of psychological injuries related to the stresses of combat which can lead to the abuse of alcohol as a coping mechanism.

Substance abuse among our veterans is much greater than our civilian populations. This is largely caused by post-traumatic stress disorder, associated from combat, and who have endured multiple deployments. In most cases, veterans who have turned to alcohol or drugs have a dual diagnosis. They not only have a problem with alcohol or drugs, but they also suffer from a mental or mood disorder that has a major impact on these issues. In most cases the mood disorder is post-traumatic disorder(PTSD), which results from being in combat. According to

Tricare Prime is a managed care plan similar to an HMO. This plan has Tricare Prime Remote, Tricare Prime Overseas and Tricare Global Remote Overseas. Tricare Extra is an alternative managed care plan for individuals who want to receive services primarily from civilian facilities and physicians rather than from military treatment facilities. Tricare for Life is a plan for beneficiaries who are both Medicare and Tricare eligible. Tricare Reserve Select is a premium based health plan available for purchase by certain members of the National Guard and Reserve activated on or after September 11,2001. Tricare Young Adult is a plan that can be purchased by qualified adult children after their regular Tricare coverage ends at age of twenty-one. Tricare is a secondary payer in almost all circumstances except Medicaid. The Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veteran Affairs (CHAMPVA) is the government’s health insurance program for the families of veterans with hundred percent service related disabilities. CHAMPVA provides coverage for most medically necessary services such as surgical procedures, anesthesia, chemotherapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, mental healthcare, prescription medications, maternity care, family planning, immunizations, durable medical equipment, hospice services and much more. CHAMPVA is usually the secondary payer except Medicaid and supplemental policy.

TRICARE supports the ability to cover medical costs when you are enrolled in any of the packages they offer. Under Prime, you are guaranteed an immediate appointment, often on the same day you are sick. Coverage includes preventive checks, such as pap spears, mammograms, and prostate screenings. Enrolling in the Prime program in a minimum of 12 months will establish your health care plan in TRICARE Prime. Other programs include TRICARE Extra, and TRICARE Standard; for the families who wish to seek civilian care from doctors and specialists from a select network in the local community, and for family members who wish to have civilian doctors provide their outpatient care, respectively. The latter two do not require you to enroll.

There are different plans with this program. They are called TRICARE Prime, Standard and Global Remote Overseas. Also, a Medicare program is available for retired military personnel, which is called TRICARE for Life. Each plan has different benefits and eligibility requirements.

What is TRICARE? A question that many of us really do not know how to answer. TRICARE is a major part of the Military Health System, its purpose is to combine the resources of military hospitals and clinics with civilian health care networks, provides access to high-quality health care, supports military operations and readiness. In order to participate in TRICARE benefits, beneficiaries must be enrolled in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) before you can reap these benefits.

TRICARE Prime is a voluntary HMO style plan for TRICARE beneficiaries that offers preventive care and the routine physical examinations. Some of the main facture for TRICARE Prime are, Fewer out of pocket costs, Enhanced vision coverage and preventive services. You can get most care from you assigned PCM. The annual deductible for TRICARE Prime is $300 for an individual and $600 for family, there is no annual deductive unless that you are using point of service option. TRICARE Prime enrollees receive the majority healthcare services from the MTF.

Tricare Standard plan allows a beneficiary to choose his or her own provider. There’s plenty of choices and individuals that have the freedom of seeing any non-network provider that they wish to consult. Under the TRICARE Standard health care plan, they will be required to make their own appointments.

In addition, a professional knows that every addict is different and there is not one specific treatment that will help all clients, each approach should be unique to

While some centers offer medication to suppress craving for the drugs, there are other rehabilitation centers that focus more on therapy. Drug rehabilitation focuses on behavioral therapy. This includes psychiatric counseling and psychotherapy as well as basic counseling. In addition, there are support groups formed within drug rehabilitation centers. Frequently, these support groups also consist of other patients with the same drug addiction. These support groups would also include family members of the patient, as this would increase the support level and help family members understand the obstacles the patient might be

The staffs of therapeutic communities mainly consist of former addicts and abusers, they know what the addicts are going through and can knowledgeably help them through the struggle. There is a high success rate for patients who do not stick with the program.

In response to the article, I think it’s wonderful that Murthy, a U.S. surgeon general is speaking up about this unfortunate amount of people with addiction not getting treatment. His statement on the reasons can cause many more people attention on this matter and in hoping to change his audience’s view on addiction. I agree with Murthy that the images most people have on addicts, a ”moral failing” and a character flaw…- only adds burden of shame that has made people with addiction to less likely to come forward and seek help. Therefore, we should view more positively toward this matter in order to raise the number of people getting treated out of those 20.8 million in the U.S.

There are different treatment programs provided. No single treatment is appropriate for all individuals. Effective treatment attends to multiple needs of the individual. To be effective, treatment must address the individual's drug use and any associated medical, psychological, social, vocational, and legal