Our veterans have wrote off on risking their own life for country. Allowing us to have the freedom we have today.
Every doctor we have in America should be required to accept VA insurance for that they wouldn’t be the doctor they are today without our veterans. Our veterans need to come first.
Giving every veteran an option to go anywhere they want with their health benefits. For some people they have to travel to see a doctor. Granted VA does reimbursed for traveling but we have older veterans on strict income basis who go without while waiting for the reimbursement check in the mail.
Our veterans should be fully covered with health insurance and dental. They did their service and deserve to be in good health without having a connected disability to get care. Right now it’s if you have had service connected disability to even get dental. They served and deserve full coverage on everything not allowing them to rely on Medicare at all.
Which in return will open up more income to the veterans without having to pay out on Medicare as well.
I am a nurse practitioner and spouse of an active duty military member. It’s not that providers don’t want to take Tricare; it’s that the reimbursement for services are so low that most providers aren’t even paid enough to cover their time and the expense of the visit. This is the root of the problem. A substantial increase in reimbursement for services by a contracted providers will increase the number of facilities/providers in network which will increase the military members access to timely quality care.
In addition, cutting some of the Tricare regulations (requiring PA for referrals, diagnostic modalities, and procedures) will not only improve timely care but also reduce the workload on facilities and providers making it easier to work with Tricare on the patients behalf.
On another note: Tricare will only cover military dependents until they are 21 years of age if not a student and 23 if they are a student. Under the ACA commercial insurances are required to cover dependents until age 26 regardless of student status. Why is this not happening for our dependents of military members. Military families make incredible sacrifices as well when their parent/spouse is serving our country as well.
Tricare makes it very difficult for their consumers. They require referrals every year even if the patients do not change specialists. They make it difficult for patients to seek medical care “ out of network” ( almost worse than medicare advantage). As far as I am concerned, any veteran should easily be able to get healthcare at anytime or anyplace in our country without pushback! (Like Medicare).