VA and TriCare News

Special interest news for Veterans of Massachusetts and Nationally

Plan: Mail-order drugs under Tricare for Life
A House Armed Services Committee proposal to cap pharmacy co-pays for active-duty dependents, retirees and their families has a string attached for Medicare-eligible retirees in the Tricare for Life program.

VA Awards More than $300,000 to Wisconsin Veterans Home
The Department of Veterans Affairs is awarding more than $300,000 for maintenance and repair of the water tower at the Wisconsin Veterans home in King.

IG finds good access to PTSD care in Europe
An Army inspector general has ended a two-month investigation into mental health services in Europe and has concluded that soldiers needing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder have the same access to programs regardless of whether they are returning to duty or leaving the service.

TRICARE Beneficiaries Reassured of Robust Pharmacy Service
The expiration of the retail pharmacy contract between Express Scripts, Inc. (ESI) and the Walgreens pharmacy chain means Walgreens is no longer a TRICARE pharmacy network provider as of Jan. 1, 2012.

VA for Vets Video Honored with Four Advertising Awards
WASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs' high-tech platform to help Veterans find jobs, VA for Vets, earned top accolades from the advertising industry for a recruitment video that paid tribute to the nation's military.

MetLife Begins TRICARE Dental Program Partnership
Starting May 1, 2012, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Inc. (MetLife) is the new TRICARE Dental Program (TDP) contractor, providing dental benefits for more than 2 million TRICARE beneficiaries worldwide.

Veterans of Different Eras Prepare for Competition at 26th National Veterans Golden Age Games
More than 700 Veterans will travel to St. Louis, Mo., May 31 - June 5 to compete in the 26th National Veterans Golden Age Games, a national sports and recreation competition sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Help Hospitalized Veterans (HHV), and Veterans Canteen Service (VCS).

Detroit to Host VA Small Business Conference, Hiring Fair
The National Veterans Small Business Conference, the government's premier event for Veteran-owned small businesses, is coming to Detroit's Cobo Center June 26-29, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced today.

VA's Main Facebook Page Surpasses 200,000 "Fans"
WASHINGTON - The primary Facebook page for the Department of Veterans Affairs has amassed more than 200,000 'fans,' increasing the department's ability to communicate directly with Veterans across the nation.

Joint VA/DOL Program Launches to Retrain 99,000 Unemployed Veterans
Starting May 15, unemployed Veterans between the ages of 35 and 60 can now apply for new benefits to cover education costs for up to one year through a joint Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Labor (DOL) program that focuses on retraining 99,000 Veterans for high-demand jobs.

Some TFL users would stay with mail-order drugs
If forced to use the military’s mail order pharmacy for maintenance drugs for at least one year, some Medicare-eligible retirees would stick with the option of getting prescriptions sent directly to their home, according to preliminary analysis of the 2013 defense authorization bill prepared by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

VA Grant Supports Construction of Utah Veterans Facility
The Department of Veterans Affairs is awarding more than $12.4 million for the state of Utah to construct a new Veterans home in Ivins City.

VA Eliminates Copayment for In-Home Video Telehealth Care
WASHINGTON - Beginning May 7, the Department of Veterans Affiars will no longer charge Veterans a copayment when they receive care in their homes from VA health professionals using video conferencing.

Personnel chiefs lobby for Tricare fee hikes
Service personnel officials continued Wednesday to press for higher out-of-pocket Tricare health insurance fees for retirees and their families, although a key congressional panel is ready to throw cold water on the plan.