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Healthcare contract change comes to Fairchild

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Taylor Curry
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  More than 16,000 military members, veterans and their families will be affected by the medical care contract transition from TriWest Healthcare Alliance to UnitedHealthcare Military & Veterans beginning April 1.

The 92nd Medical Group has been actively engaged answering questions and addressing concerns as the contract turn over date nears. Experts hosted a town hall meeting Feb. 7 at the Balfour Beatty Community Center on base.

"Town hall meetings are an avenue for people to share their concerns so we encourage anyone who can make it, to do so," said 1st Lt. Nicholas Freese, TRICARE Operations & Patient Administration flight commander of the 92nd MDG, who also spoke at two town hall meetings last month. "We want to get information out to as many people as possible about the changes taking place to the TRICARE contract in the western region and more specifically, how TRICARE beneficiaries at Fairchild and in the Spokane area will be affected."

The most important takeaway is that military benefits are not changing with the contract transfer; only the company managing the healthcare program is changing, said Freese.

"We're working diligently to make the transition over the next few months as seamless as possible," said Freese.

UnitedHealthcare, by contract, is required to recreate the existing provider network size and strength. Thus far, they've reached to an additional 600 physicians and 25 medical facilities not under TriWest. Of the existing TriWest network, UnitedHealthcare has signed contracts with 66 percent of the physicians. This number will continue to grow as the transition takes place, Freese explained.

UnitedHealthcare and TriWest will ensure that beneficiaries currently assigned to case managers, behavioral health specialists, health coaches or other clinical staff will continue to receive services from an assigned clinician without disruption. Beneficiaries in these and other programs will continue to receive case management and disease management services from TriWest through March 31.

Beginning April 1, a UnitedHealthcare case manager will work with beneficiaries to address care coordination, provide counseling and assist with obtaining services, Freese said.

Beneficiaries will be receiving letters of correspondence related to the transition from TriWest to UnitedHealthcare.

"The best thing you can do is keep a lookout for any mail with information about this transition," said Kristal Watson, health benefits advisor for the 92nd MDG.

Future town hall meetings on March 7 and April 4 will reveal more information as details develop.

For more information call (509)-247-4108.