Medicare-eligible military retirees and their spouses are among the most satisfied users of Tricare, while those enrolled in Tricare Prime — many of whom receive health care at military hospitals and clinics — are less happy with the military health system, according to a recent poll conducted by the Military Officers Association of America.
Asked to rate Tricare on three metrics — quality, cost and access to care — 86 percent to 95 percent of Tricare for Life beneficiaries said they were satisfied.
Of the 30,000 respondents to the MOAA survey issued last month, 86 percent to 95 percent of Tricare for Life beneficiaries said they were satisfied with the quality, cost and access to care.
More than 86 percent of those using Tricare Standard, a traditional fee-for-service health plan, also expressed satisfaction with their program, while the satisfaction rate dipped to 81 percent for those on Tricare Prime.
The unscientific survey that drew 30,000 respondents, conducted via MOAA’s website, showed further room for improvement in Tricare Prime, with just 62 percent of Tricare Prime users saying they were happy with their ability to choose doctors and 20 percent expressing dissatisfaction with the cost of their care.
Retired Navy Vice Adm. Norbert Ryan, president of MOAA, told members of the House Armed Services Committee’s personnel panel in November that changes to the military system, to include creating a single unified health command, would make the system more efficient and save money.
“We think it’s important to preserve what’s working and fix what’s not working,” Ryan said.
More than half those who responded to the MOAA survey said they use Tricare for Life, the health program that supplements Medicare for senior retirees. About 7,100 respondents use Tricare Prime, the military’s managed care-style program, while 4,000 use Tricare Standard, according to MOAA.
MOAA’s survey indicates that the biggest concerns among military beneficiaries are continuity of care and access to doctors, especially those in Tricare Prime who are seen at military treatment facilities, said retired Navy Capt. Kathy Beasley, MOAA’s health affairs deputy director.
“The system needs to be more customer focused and accommodative,” she said.
Earlier this year, the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission recommended changes to the military health system, including requiring active-duty troops to use military treatment facilities while family members, retirees and their families use commercial insurance plans designed for the military population.
Congress plans to launch a top-down review of the military health system with an eye toward major reform in 2016, similar to the extensive reform effort over the past two years that recently resulted in the approval of a new military retirement model.
Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., an Army reserve doctor and chairman of the HASC personnel panel, said nothing will be off the table in the health care reform initiative.
“The overarching goal of the project is to ensure the military health system can sustain trained and ready health care providers to support the readiness of the force while providing a quality health care benefit that is valued by beneficiaries,” Heck said.
