thedrifter
08-29-07, 07:30 PM
Switching to mail-order pharmacy made simpler
By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Aug 29, 2007 13:43:36 EDT
A new service launched today is designed to make it easier for military families to use the Tricare mail-order pharmacy.
The new Member Choice Center, available by phone or through the Internet, will help make the switch from retail to mail order “virtually effortless” for the military community, said defense officials, in a statement announcing the change. The MCC can contact physicians to get new prescriptions for service families or retirees, and forward them to the Tricare mail-order pharmacy for processing, if the patient agrees. Beneficiaries can get mail-order pharmacy enrollment assistance from the MCC, too.
There are still choices for getting your meds. While getting meds free at a military treatment facility is the most cost-effective option, that option is not available for everyone. The mail-order pharmacy can save patients as much as 66 percent on medications for conditions such as high blood pressure, asthma or diabetes, officials said. Patients can also get up to a 90-day supply of most medications for the same amount of money they would pay for a 30-day supply at a retail pharmacy that accepts Tricare.
Beneficiaries do not have to download forms or wait to have forms mailed to register for the mail-order pharmacy; you can go to the “My Benefit” portal on the Tricare Web site or to Express Scripts to complete the registration form. You’ll have online access to your account and prescription drug information within minutes. Beneficiaries can also call the MCC at (877) 363-1433 to switch from the retail program to the mail-order pharmacy program. The hours of operation for the phone center are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday.
The mail-order pharmacy also saves money for the Department of Defense — it pays 30 to 40 percent less for prescriptions filled through the mail-order service than it does for those filled by retail pharmacies. If just 1 percent of prescriptions shift from retail to mail order, officials said, it would save $24 million a year.
www.tricare.mil/mybenefit/
member.express-scripts.com/dodCustom/welcome.do
Ellie
By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Aug 29, 2007 13:43:36 EDT
A new service launched today is designed to make it easier for military families to use the Tricare mail-order pharmacy.
The new Member Choice Center, available by phone or through the Internet, will help make the switch from retail to mail order “virtually effortless” for the military community, said defense officials, in a statement announcing the change. The MCC can contact physicians to get new prescriptions for service families or retirees, and forward them to the Tricare mail-order pharmacy for processing, if the patient agrees. Beneficiaries can get mail-order pharmacy enrollment assistance from the MCC, too.
There are still choices for getting your meds. While getting meds free at a military treatment facility is the most cost-effective option, that option is not available for everyone. The mail-order pharmacy can save patients as much as 66 percent on medications for conditions such as high blood pressure, asthma or diabetes, officials said. Patients can also get up to a 90-day supply of most medications for the same amount of money they would pay for a 30-day supply at a retail pharmacy that accepts Tricare.
Beneficiaries do not have to download forms or wait to have forms mailed to register for the mail-order pharmacy; you can go to the “My Benefit” portal on the Tricare Web site or to Express Scripts to complete the registration form. You’ll have online access to your account and prescription drug information within minutes. Beneficiaries can also call the MCC at (877) 363-1433 to switch from the retail program to the mail-order pharmacy program. The hours of operation for the phone center are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday.
The mail-order pharmacy also saves money for the Department of Defense — it pays 30 to 40 percent less for prescriptions filled through the mail-order service than it does for those filled by retail pharmacies. If just 1 percent of prescriptions shift from retail to mail order, officials said, it would save $24 million a year.
www.tricare.mil/mybenefit/
member.express-scripts.com/dodCustom/welcome.do
Ellie