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DoD Begins Tricare Retail Pharmacy Program June 1
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May 28, 2004 - The Department of Defense announced today that on June 1, 2004, the new Tricare Retail Pharmacy (TRRx) contract takes effect for Tricare beneficiaries located in the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. The contract, awarded last year to Express Scripts Inc. of Maryland Heights, Mo., has approximately 53,000 civilian pharmacies in the nationwide network. In the past, the Tricare regional managed care support contractors provided retail pharmacy services and most beneficiaries should not notice the change in services with the new contract. To use the new retail pharmacy program, as with all other DoD health programs, beneficiaries must be eligible and enrolled in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System or DEERS. "The new single contract integrates the previous regional contracts into one uniform retail pharmacy benefit across all Tricare regions,o/oo said Army Col. William Davies, director, DoD pharmacy programs. The TRRx program has many new enhancements. Pharmacy claims processing is now centralized and beneficiaries no longer have to mail pharmacy claims to multiple sites for processing or call various telephone numbers to get assistance filling a prescription when using the retail network. Patient safety has also been enhanced by use of the Pharmacy Data Transaction Service to process all pharmacy claims, including paper claims. For a single co-payment of $3 for generic or $9 for a brand-name prescription, eligible TRRx beneficiaries may continue to receive a 30-day supply of their prescription medication from the new network of retail pharmacies. To use this benefit, a written pharmacy prescription and a uniformed services identification card are required. Tricare beneficiaries who used a retail pharmacy last year will receive, by mail, a pharmacy identification card, a TRRx benefit guide and a letter listing the twelve network pharmacies close to their home. | |