Tricare Service Centers closing April 1; benefits not effected Published March 20, 2014 By Airman 1st Class William Johnson 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Tricare walk-in services across the continental United States will be shutting down April 1, 2014, as the result of a proposal from the Defense Health Agency to cut costs across the Department of Defense. Walk-in services that will be effected include billing, enrollment, changing a primary care manger, and general information on benefits and plans, or referrals. Tricare members and dependents will now have to go online to www.tricare.mil or call Tricare centers in their region to use these services. Enrollment into Tricare will also see changes due to the closing of service centers. New Airmen arriving to Dover AFB will be enrolled into Tricare when they in-process with the wing. New Airmen can also enroll dependents at this time and only need their full name and date of birth. If members are not available to enroll during in-processing, they can enroll through the online services and call centers provided by Tricare. Second Lt. Allison Lagarda, 436th Tricare Operations and Patient Administrations flight commander, said that Tricare and Dover AFB are already taking measures to make the transition to online services as easy as possible. "Tricare has done a great job on making changes to their website and making it more user friendly," said Lagarda. "We will also be available to help people in any way that we can to make the transition easier." By closing the Tricare Service Centers the DOD is expected to save $250 million over the next five years. The money saved in turn will be invested back into more important services of Tricare. Col. Kevin Murphy, 436th Medical Group commander, stressed there will be no changes to Tricare members' benefits. He said closing the walk-in services will save the DOD $52 million this year alone and Tricare members will not lose any of the customer support. "Tricare is still the best healthcare plan in the world bar none, and we are not going to change that," said Murphy. "We are simply just changing the way we do business with Tricare." As of now Tricare Service Centers overseas are not affected by these cost-cutting measures. Any Tricare issues that members cannot resolve via the internet or telephone can contact the Beneficiary Counseling and Assistance Coordinators (BCAC) at 677-2530. Useful Links Tricare Website: www.tricare.mil. Get benefit information and access secure websites to find a doctor, view referrals and prior authorizations, manage prescriptions, and more. MilConnect: http://milconnect.dmdc.mil. Update your e-mail and mailing addresses in DEERS and view eligibility, enrollment information, enrollment cards, and important correspondence about your benefit. Beneficiary Web Enrollment: www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/bwe. Enroll in Tricare medical and dental options and manage your enrollments. Claims: www.myTRICARE.com Helpful Numbers Health Net Federal Services: 1-877-TRICARE (1-877-874-2273) Tricare Reserve Select and Tricare Retired Reserve: 1-800-555-2605 UnitedHealthcare Military & Veterans: 1-877-988-WEST (1-877-988-9378) Humana Military, a division of Humana Government Business: 1-800-444-5445