Lawmakers are calling for an independent audit of TRICARE’s pharmacy program amid concerns that the contractor tasked with managing the program is pushing servicemembers toward its own pharmacies and driving out smaller retailers.
VA Payments for Community Care Continue to Increase Substantially
The VA recently announced that it had made more than $36 billion in payments to local healthcare providers across the country in fiscal year 2025 as part of the VA MISSION Act.
Nearly a Quarter of Active-Duty U.S. Servicemembers Meet Obesity Definition
Obesity poses an increasing threat to U.S. military readiness, with more than half of active-duty servicemembers classified as overweight and about a fourth as obese. Yet, weight loss medications continue to be underused. Find out why and how increasing political pressure might change that.
Where Veterans Turn for Emergency Care: VA vs. Community Emergency Departments
For veterans experiencing injury or sudden illness, timely access to emergency care can be critical. Although the VA offers emergency services at its facilities, veterans may also seek care at community emergency departments (EDs).
Funding Sought for Non-VA Providers to Provide Veteran Care Outside Community Care System
Congress is considering several pieces of legislation that would create new funding opportunities for non-VA providers to provide care to veterans outside the community care system.
Bipartisan Skepticism Expressed About VA’s Plan to Overhaul Community Care Network
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle appear skeptical about VA’s ability to successfully undertake a proposed overhaul of its community-care network—an endeavor projected to cost $1 trillion over 10 years. Congress, along with the general public, only learned about the department’s plan when VA released its request for proposals at the end of 2025.
Constant Administrative Changes Have Hampered Efforts to Integrate VA Direct Care, Community Care
Attempts by VA in recent years to integrate its direct care and community care systems have been hit and miss, with frequent administrative changes and a lack of communication leaving facility leaders confused over proper protocol and who to go to when they have questions, a watchdog report has found.
More Than 100 Retired and Active VA Physicians Have Sounded a Warning About Community-Care Pitfalls
More than 100 active and retired VA physicians recently spoke out against the direction the department is heading in an open letter to VA Secretary Douglas Collins.
Structural Mismanagement Kept Veterans From Accessing Community Care
Facilities in VISN 12 did not consistently identify veterans who are eligible for community care, inform veterans of their eligibility or correctly process requests for appointments, according to a new VA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report.
VA Committee Hears About Challenges Getting Community Mental Healthcare
The Republican focus on further expanding VA-funded community care has been fueled, in part, by reports from veterans and service organizations detailing the hurdles they have had to go through to obtain care for themselves or their clients.
Legislators Push for Better Oversight of VA Community Care Providers
As promised, the new Republican-led Congress began the legislative year by focusing heavily on community care in VA, with a glut of hearings targeting different aspects of the issue.
Operator of Fraudulent Pain Clinics Took Advantage of Veterans, Servicemembers, Others; Sentencing Scheduled for February
Michael Kestner, the owner and operator of medical clinics in Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina, was convicted last month in federal court of fraudulently billing Medicare and TRICARE for $35 million in unnecessary opioid injections.
Legislators Question Continued Usefulness of VISN System at VA
The Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs), which group VA’s facilities into 18 interconnected regions, has been a key part of the department’s structure since they were created in the late 1990s. Now, following a series of key oversight failures at VA facilities and years of watchdog agencies reporting frustrating inconsistencies from VISN to VISN, legislators are wondering if this structure is really the best way to oversee VA’s 172 hospitals nationwide.
GAO: Servicemembers in Need of Mental Health Services Are Falling Through the Cracks as They Transition to VA Care
Two recent investigations by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have highlighted how seemingly small procedural issues and technical errors can lead to servicemembers and veterans not receiving much-needed mental health services.
Critical OIG Report Raises Key Questions About VA’s Community Care Program
A recent VA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) audit has added more fuel to the argument around community care, finding that VA has provided little accountability over the third-party providers tasked with overseeing the department’s community care networks.
Higher Melanoma, Other Cancer Rates in Aviators, and Crew Remain a Mystery
Military aviators and the ground crews that service their planes are at a greater risk to develop melanoma and other types of cancer, according to a Pentagon study released last month. Just what factors are contributing to that risk remains unknown, however.
TRICARE Prescription Drug Network Changes Ignite a Controversy
The removal of about 15,000 independent pharmacies from the TRICARE network has created an uproar.
Clostridioides Difficile Infection Increases Mortality, Costs for MHS Patients
One of the largest studies ever of healthcare-facility-associated Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) underscored the seriousness of the infection, which causes significantly increased length of stay, higher costs, and, worst of all, greater mortality among inpatients.
New Mothers at MHS Facilities Less Likely to Use Opioids
MHS patients are less likely to fill a prescription for opioids after delivery of a child than those receiving care from civilian facilities.
Ann Arbor VAMC Rapidly Stands Up Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Service
As emergency departments around the country struggled to get through the day during the recurrent surges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the emergency medicine team at the LTC Charles S. Kettles VAMC here did something extraordinary—they sought out more patients to treat.
Skin Cancer Screening Rates Low for Veterans but Higher Than Usual
While it is well known that military veterans are at increased risk for skin cancer, what is less understood is how often they are screened for skin cancer.
Military Surgeon Readiness Continues to Decline as Patient Caseloads Drop
Military surgeon readiness continues to decrease because of declining workload, and a new study suggested that patient flow care at the MHS will have to dramatically change to reverse the situation.
TRICARE Covers 3D Mammograms Under Provisional Program
WASHINGTON — As of the beginning of the year, TRICARE is offering 3D mammograms to screen for breast cancer for eligible patients. Previously, Tricare only covered digital breast tomosynthesis in special case (i.e., after a physician order for at-risk patients or...