Editor’s note: This story was updated Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, with comment from Health Net Federal Services; on Oct. 23 with comment from TriWest Healthcare Alliance; and on Oct. 24 with comment from Humana Military.
Military community, take note: Defense health officials recently announced some limitations to online options for Tricare beneficiaries making changes to their health plans, starting with a global enrollment freeze that will affect any Tricare plan from Oct. 25-27.
During those three days, Tricare beneficiaries won’t be able to update their information or make changes to their plans, including overseas and dental plans.
The Oct. 25-27 outage is scheduled to allow the Defense Health Agency and its partners to transfer beneficiary enrollment information to the regional contractors, DHA officials said in an announcement Monday.
Additionally, after that freeze ends, Tricare beneficiaries won’t be able to make online health plan updates in milConnect through Beneficiary Web Enrollment beginning Oct. 28 through Dec. 31. Instead, beneficiaries will need to contact their regional Tricare contractor by phone to do things like change their primary care manager, update their plan due to a qualifying life event or change their plan during Tricare open season, which runs Nov. 11 through Dec. 10.
Those not currently enrolled in a Tricare plan can still enroll in one online between Oct. 28 and Dec. 31 through milConnect.
Tricare beneficiaries who live overseas can continue to use milConnect between Oct. 28 and Dec. 31. However, those transferring from the U.S. to an overseas location will need to contact International SOS.
Officials advise beneficiaries to check their information in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System as soon as possible.
At Humana Military, officials acknowledged they expect the call volume to increase for the East Region during these last months of the year. Their contact center has been working throughout the year to staff and train “a robust level of employees to manage the elevated demands that we expect as a result of open season” and the transition to the new contract happening at the same time, officials told Military Times. “During this time, we encourage Tricare East Region beneficiaries to call on Wednesdays, Thursdays or Fridays as we anticipate shorter wait times on those days of the week.”
The current West Region contractor, Health Net Federal Services, is staffed appropriately to handle the extra calls between Oct. 28 and Dec. 31, officials told Military Times. They’ll follow their established process for accepting enrollment changes outside of the Beneficiary Web Enrollment.
Officials with TriWest Healthcare Alliance, which takes over the West Region contract Jan. 1, told Military Times they are “well prepared” to open their contact center on Nov. 11 to support beneficiaries during open season. DHA has conducted a validation of their operational readiness, and their staff is trained to handle customer inquiries, they said.
The temporary online limitations come ahead of Tricare’s new regional contracts, which begin Jan. 1.
Those who want to make changes effective from Oct. 28 through Dec. 31 should call their current regional contractor. Humana Military, which covers the East Region, is at 800-444-5445. The current West Region contractor, Health Net Federal Services, is at 844-866-9378; TriWest Healthcare Alliance will take over as the new West Region contractor effective Jan. 1.
Those who want to make changes effective Jan. 1 and beyond, including Tricare open season:
- East Region: Call Humana Military at 800-444-5445.
- West Region, which adds Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin effective Jan. 1: Call TriWest Healthcare Alliance at 888-874-9378. Their call center will open the first day of Tricare open season on Nov. 11.
- Overseas: Update information in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System or contact International SOS.
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
