Changes are in the works for health and dental care at Patuxent River Naval Air Station.
New dental trailers have been installed to care for service members and their families. Military medicine sick call is being revamped and automation is being installed at the pharmacy at the Navy Exchange.
TRICARE, the health care program serving active duty military personnel, their families and retirees, is changing its coverage. And those covered by the TRICARE dental program will see a switch from United Concordia to MetLife this spring.
“One of the critical pieces of why we’re here is that without wellness ... how can our warriors do what they need to do?” said Capt. Lisa Raimondo, commanding officer for Naval Health Clinic Patuxent River.
The changes were outlined Tuesday during a Health Care Consumers Council meeting at the Pax River health clinic.
“Our dental renovation project is in full blast,” said Lt. Cmdr. Sonny Tizon, director for administration at the health clinic. “Our old clinic is being renovated and operations have moved to the temporary modular facilities located in front of the [health] clinic on Buse Road. We are fully operational and have been so since after the Christmas holiday. Parking for our dental patients is available right in front of the dental trailers, so there should be sufficient parking for our beneficiaries and customers.”
Capt. John Grzesik, dental clinic department head, said, “Because we have the temporary facility and we’re still trying to assess what our capabilities are there, we are sending some patients for regular care out to the local network as opposed to strictly specialty care to ensure our patients receive care in a timely fashion.”
And effective May 1 there will be a new dental contractor for the active-duty dependent — MetLife, said Jane Hambel, customer relations officer for the health clinic. There is no change to the active duty dental program or retiree dental program.
“Under this new program there are actually changes for the better,” Hambel said. “Now we can have the white amalgams instead of the silver fillings, so that’ll be a nice cosmetic change for our beneficiaries. There’s also going to be an increase in the maximum amount of work allowed to $1,300 per enrollee, so again, a little more money to take care of your teeth. There’s also an increase in the lifetime orthodontic maximum, from $1,500 to $1,750.”
Changes to the amount allowed for dental accidents and an additional third cleaning a year for pregnant women also are anticipated as that program takes effect.
Several changes also are taking place up the hill at the health clinic, said its director of health services, Capt. Sandra Hearn.
“In an effort to do better business and also meet the customer’s needs, we are changing our [military medicine] sick call from everyone showing up in the morning and waiting hours to be seen to actual scheduled appointments like every other clinic at the other installations with sick call,” she said. “It’ll be an all-day acute care that will be available. This will also allow our flight surgeons to do their physicals, and we should see all this by March 1.
“Deployment health has also moved out of military medicine, so we can improve the flow and access to military medicine and separate those overseas screenings.”
Updates to the pharmacy’s automation system Feb. 8 to 15 may cause temporary inconvenience for patrons looking to refill prescriptions.
“That week, the pharmacy will not fill new prescriptions,” Hambel said. “We will continue to dispense refills from Window 5 called into the National Capital Region refill line” at 800-377-1723.
Hambel said that for new, nonemergency prescriptions, customers should use the drop box near the pharmacy entrance. Those prescriptions will be filled after Feb. 15. Otherwise, patrons are urged to visit other retail network pharmacies in the local community (such as Walmart, Target and CVS). Prescriptions for active duty service members are free at these locations, but all other patients are responsible for copayments ranging from $5 to $25.
Perhaps the biggest changes, however, are coming in TRICARE.
“Patients can also now take advantage of the new TRICARE mail-order pharmacy home delivery program, which allows patient meds to be delivered to their door at no charge,” Hambel said.
“There is still a copayment for brand name and nonformulary medications,” said Lt. Monika Turner, pharmacy department head. “But right now the mail-order pharmacy could be the best solution for decreasing wait times.”
The TRICARE Young Adult Prime option is available for purchase, with coverage effective as of Jan. 1 this year. It “will offer young adult beneficiaries TRICARE Prime coverage for monthly premiums of $201,” said Glen Carpenter, TRICARE Service Center administrator, Health Net Federal Services. To purchase TYA Prime, dependents must be younger than age 26, unmarried and not eligible for their own employer-sponsored health care coverage. Enrollment will be based on the sponsor’s status.
In addition to TYA Prime, young adult dependents also may be eligible for TYA Standard, which has been available since May 2011, Carpenter said. With monthly premiums reduced to $176 per month as of Jan. 1, Standard offers eligible dependents the flexibility to see TRICARE-authorized network and non-network providers of their choice, wherever they live or travel, Carpenter said.
And if local TRICARE beneficiaries need on-the-go health care information, there’s always the new TRICARE North Mobile website/app.
“We now have a mobile app to tell people where the closest immediate care facility is located and more, so it’s a nice, convenient way to find care when out moving around,” Carpenter said.
After outlining the changes, Capt. Benjamin Shevchuk, Pax River’s executive officer, said suggestions, questions and concerns are always welcome.
“Dialogue and questions are key, and we will continue to encourage our tenant commands to be the couriers of this key information to our customers and beneficiaries,” he said.
“We just have to partner in contributing to the success of our parts here on base,” Raimondo added.
jgoolsby@somdnews.com
To learn more
The Health Care Consumers’ Council meets on the third Tuesday of odd numbered months at 10 a.m. in the Naval Health Clinic Patuxent River conference room at 47149 Buse Road. The next meeting is scheduled for March 20, and all TRICARE beneficiaries (active duty, retired and family members) are welcome to attend. Call Jane Hambel at 301-995-4980 for more information.
For more information on the TRICARE North Mobile Website, visit www.hnfs.com/go/mobile. To see updated beneficiary information, visit www.tricare.mil.
