Tricare officials have extended the payment update deadline to Feb. 28 for beneficiaries who live in the West Region.
Beneficiaries who pay for their Tricare coverage using bank electronic funds transfer, credit card or debit card need to update their payment information with TriWest Healthcare Alliance, the new West Region contractor. Those who don’t provide their information to TriWest risk losing their coverage and will be disenrolled from Tricare retroactive to Jan. 1.
The Feb. 28 deadline is the second extension, after the original Dec. 31, 2024, deadline was extended in January.
This applies to beneficiaries enrolled in Tricare Young Adult, Tricare Reserve Select, Tricare Retired Reserve, Tricare Prime and Tricare Select who live in the West Region and make their payments using the above methods. As of Jan. 1, the West Region includes Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, Wisconsin and some additional ZIP codes.
Beneficiaries who pay for their coverage using a military pay allotment don’t have to take action; their payment information was transferred from the previous West Region contractor, Health Net Federal Services.
This doesn’t affect those enrolled in Tricare for Life, U.S. Family Health Plan or Tricare Overseas health plans or active-duty service members and their families who don’t pay enrollment fees.
The latest deadline extension comes as a number of beneficiaries and health care providers have reported difficulty with the TriWest online portal, including long wait times to reach TriWest’s call center. TriWest has told Military Times it has been increasing call center staff.
One retired soldier told Military Times, “Everything I’ve read has said that we have to set up automatic payments by Jan. 30 or we will lose our enrollment.”
The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said he hasn’t been able to set up payments through the TriWest online portal, getting a constant “error” message. When he reached someone Friday after more than an hour on hold, he said, “They said their system was down and they couldn’t verify any payments or details and to call back next week.”
Defense Health Agency officials said they have been actively working since November 2024 to notify beneficiaries through direct mail, email campaigns and social media outreach about the need to update their payment information, according to the agency’s announcement about the deadline extension.
“Despite these efforts, some beneficiaries still need to take action to maintain their coverage,” officials stated.
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book “A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families.” She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
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