Posted on Nov 21, 2013
How would you save the military money in medical expenses?
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1. Combine all military medical assets into the Public Health Service and expand to include manning of all Veteran Administration hospitals. Only Corpsman, Medics, and Physician Assistants would remain branch specific. Medical teams in the PHS would specialize/certify for land, air, and sea operations instead of having separate medical corps for each branch.<div><br></div><div>2. Charge a nominal annual deductible for each dependent to access medical services. Exclude preventative care and immunizations from the deductible. This should help reduce unnecessary access to medical services when an over-the-counter treatment was all that was needed.</div><div><br></div><div>3. Centralize all military medical training, removing redundant training centers.</div><div><br></div><div>4. Lock retiree medical insurance rates to increase with the CPI.</div><div><br></div><div>5. Charge more for insuring retirees' dependents.</div><div><br></div><div>6. A Physician's Assistant should be assigned to every Battalion to allow for an easy open door access to sick call triage. It would also allow for quick identification of personnel that are prone to malingering.</div><div><br></div><div>7. Provide greater access to preventative care for service members such as Chiropractors.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>
Medical
Health
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 13
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Stop giving dependents a free ride on their sponsor's health insurance. Have a minor co-pay in the single digits for a PCM visit and have a hefty co-pay for emergency room visits that don't qualify as a "life, limb, or eyesight" emergency.
This should free up a whole lot of appointments in your local TMC and end the practice of using the ER as an alternative to waiting to see a doctor for three days or less.
This should free up a whole lot of appointments in your local TMC and end the practice of using the ER as an alternative to waiting to see a doctor for three days or less.
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SPC (Join to see)
Here at Fort Huachuca, we do not have a "hospital". We have a clinic so ER visits are quite common here do to the fact that the clinic cannot support what is needed at times.
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MAJ (Join to see)
I live off post about 30 minutes and when my kid needed to go to the ER I was going to the one that was 5 minutes up the road not all the way back to post. SFC Watkins. I have only been stationed at Fort Bragg, Gordon and Lewis but we have never had to call to clear an ER visit before or after going for a dependent. On the other hand when I herniated a disc in my neck I again went to the closer hospital and had to go to my battalion PA the next day and he signed off that it was an emergency. I have never used an ER as a way to avoid an appointment though but it sounds like something that probably happens.
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SGT (Join to see)
Dependants are entitled to the same healthcare as their service member. Families are what supports the SM when their unit or support channel does not, claiming that they are given a free ride is a little unfair. as for ER visits sometimes the "life limb or eye sight" mandate can be a little convuluded. someone might be experiencing leg pain might have to wait 1-2 weeks for a regular appointment. that leg pain could be from something more serious like a DVT for example. if that clot breaks off while the patient is waiting for their scheduled appointment they run the risk of perishing. what needs to happen is the make appointments to providers more accessable. perhaps my adding one more hour to clinic schedules or hiring Nurse Practicioners who can prescribe medications and appropriately diagnose and help out the regular physicians who can focus on the more serious ailments.
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1LT (Join to see)
Dependents are entitled to the same care as their sponsors, I agree. They receive better care, though. I cannot change my Tricare enrollment to see a civilian off-post as my PCM. I can't visit the ER at a whim without authorization from the medical officer on duty.
Regarding the leg pain: A migraine can be a brain tumor, a regular headache with a sore neck meningitis, and a stomachache could be a ruptured ulcer. The question is, considering the patient's medical history, how likely is any of this?
Regarding the leg pain: A migraine can be a brain tumor, a regular headache with a sore neck meningitis, and a stomachache could be a ruptured ulcer. The question is, considering the patient's medical history, how likely is any of this?
I prefer upset dependents and out-of-pocket costs for lifestyle choices/bad luck to being short troops and weapons systems because our personnel costs are growing out of control.
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Charge a small copay less than $20.00, it will reduce some of the " I am just here because I have free health insurance." it may make people think twice before seeking care for the common cold.
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Here are my big three:
1. Curtail elective procedures. Boob jobs and tummy tucks are nice for some folks but there's no reason why TRICARE should pay for things like this
2. Stop prescribing OTC cold medications to everyone who comes in with a case of the sniffles or aches and pains. The PX carries them and yes, service members and family members would have to pay for them out-of-pocket.
3. Charge a deductible for family member visits to the clinic or the ER.
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