Tricare Prime Demo by CareSource Military and Veterans is coming to Tampa, Fla., and Atlanta next year.
Through the Department of Defense, Tricare offers health plans to uniformed service members, retirees and their families. CareSource Military and Veterans President Holly Joers explained to Becker’s how the insurer is getting in on the action.
So far, the plan has taken one big step to ease administrative burden and boost care access: Eliminating referrals for in-network care.
In Tricare Prime, members often have to work with their primary care manager — their main provider — to get a referral for specialty care, get that referral approved by a regional contractor and then wait to hear back before they can book an appointment. CareSource evaluated whether any legal obstacles stood in the way and decided to axe the process.
“It was a no-brainer,” Ms. Joers said. “This makes sense to us. Can we do it logistically? Yes. Are there any barriers statutorily? No.”
She said CareSource chose Tampa as an initial market because of its healthcare infrastructure, a military base that draws service members and a retiree population. Integrated Home Care Services will act as one of the plan’s partners in Florida. The insurer will also offer the plan in Atlanta. Ms. Joers noted that both areas have “strong military and veteran communities, robust healthcare infrastructure and a wide variety of population needs.”
As for other insurers considering entering the Tricare market, Ms. Joers sees an opportunity.
“We’re hearing a lot from the government now about wanting to bring more commercial entities into the space,” she said.
In terms of what next steps Ms. Joers sees for CareSource’s Tricare push, she said she is “expecting there to be an opportunity to compete for more locations, so we’re excited to be able to do that and just continue to build on this managed care, integrated care model.”
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