JetMech  

I do not know if Francine Forestell, Chief of Customer Communications and Customer Service, will see this or even answer this but I have a few comments from when she was on the talk show "Have a Question About TRICARE" from 1 May 08.

She stated that should a TRICARE participant goes to an emergency room with chest pains, but it turns out to be a viral problem, the first claim may not be covered so that now the participant needs to go back to the emergency room and ask for the notes from the emergency room admission. She makes that sound so easy to do, "Just go and ask for the notes from the emergency room admission.", yea right. It is a big run-around. Why doesn't TRICARE just make it mandatory that the provider, provide that info with the first claim's paperwork?

She also talks about "All the wonderful things" happing to TRICARE, She makes it sound all so wonderful, yet she left out the proposal to raise the annual TRICARE Prime enrollment fee from $460 to $1,100 a year. THATS 250% INCREASE! She left out the proposed 40 mile rule, which will leave thousands, if not more, former military families high and dry. Lets forget the fact that the enrollment fee will jump 250%, but now we will also need to buy supplemental coverage!

She talks about if TRICARE should not cover the complete balance on a bill, in her example she states that if your primary care physician send you to a specialist who does not accept TRICARE. She makes it sound like it is not all that bad by using very low dollar amounts. She used a $180 bill as her example. What SPECIALIST only charges $180? Lets use real world number like $3,000 or more.

Finally, could the cost of TRICARE be going through the roof because no one cares when a patient is mis-billed? Twice TRICARE has been missed billed based no my visits. Once for a visit I never had and once TRICARE was double billed for the same procedure, I only had preformed once. Both times I called TRICARE to let them know, The appointment I had was cancelled, by the doctor, yet he still billed TRICARE and the second time to let them know they were being double billed. The answer I got from TRICARE billing was, "Sir, you need to go back to your provider, and get this straightened out." I HAD TO GO BACK! Sounds to me like TRICARE does not care about the mismanagement of the billing as all they have to do when it gets too out of hand is raise the annual TRICARE Prime enrollment fees 250%!