TRICARE Changes Double Coverage with Department of Veterans Affairs

TriWest Healthcare Alliance has recently been notified that TRICARE Management Activity (TMA) has implemented a change for beneficiaries eligible for TRICARE and Veterans Administration (VA) benefits. Eligibility for health care through the VA for a service-connected disability is not considered double coverage.

The change allows an individual eligible for health care through the VA and for TRICARE to use either their TRICARE or Veterans benefits. A beneficiary may now get medically necessary care through TRICARE, even if the beneficiary has received some treatment for the same episode of care through the VA. However, TRICARE will not duplicate payments made by or authorized by the VA for treatment of a service-connected disability.

Previously, the eligible beneficiary had to choose to use either their TRICARE or Veterans benefits for the entire episode of care and couldn’t change.

For further information, refer to TRICARE Reimbursement Manual, Chapter 4, Section 4 Specific Double Coverage Actions, Paragraph IV, which can be found at www.tricare.mil.