COMPLAINTS PERSIST SURROUNDING THE 2025 TRICARE WEST REGION TRANSITION

For military families, 2025 is a time of change when it comes to healthcare. TRICARE is undergoing a transformative period that is proving to be frustrating for many, specifically for beneficiaries within the TRICARE West Region. Life with TriWest Healthcare Alliance, the new contractor handling coverage for the area, has brought about frustrations, confusion, and fear that these issues may only be the beginning of things to come.

The TRICARE West Region Transition Is Not Starting Well

Now that TriWest Healthcare Alliance has taken over the TRICARE West Region, all is not well for some families.

Beneficiaries enrolled with TRICARE insurance have reported problems involving the contractor’s website and customer service lines to begin the new era of healthcare coverage for many military families.

These issues include beneficiaries trying to do the right thing, as they were told at the end of 2024, to get their affairs in order. Now, families can’t verify that they have healthcare coverage or provide information for payments.

The problem is affecting active-duty military families as well as Veterans who have retired from service and maintain their TRICARE coverage.

The Risk of Losing Coverage

Two new TRICARE contracts went into effect on January 1, 2025, keeping the TRICARE East Region under Humana Military with TriWest taking on the West Region.

This is why beneficiaries in the West Region relying on their payment information to continue making recurring payments need to provide their credit card, debit card, or electronic funds information to ensure their healthcare coverage remains current—beneficiaries enrolled with TRICARE for Life or a U.S. Family Health Plan may be exceptions.

However, officials continue to warn beneficiaries of the need to provide and confirm their payment information to TriWest before the start of 2025 to avoid losing their healthcare coverage.

Since then, the extension timeline has been extended to January 15, 2025, for those who receive coverage through TRICARE Young Adult, TRICARE Reserve Select, and TRICARE Retired Reserve, and January 30, 2025, for those with TRICARE Select and TRICARE Prime.

Despite the preparations seemingly by both parties, issues have plagued the transition for some, with beneficiaries citing issues when calling customer service lines. A task that has taken some hours to complete before finally speaking with someone.

Beyond the frustration of setting up vital payment information or confirming that they have coverage within the TRICARE West Region, some have pointed to the reality of missing scheduled appointments, including checkups and vital healthcare scans.

By January 6, 2025, fewer than 60% of the beneficiaries who need to provide the right payment information to TriWest had done so.

Error Messages

While phone calls may take hours, online options are often just as frustrating for users.

Some beneficiaries trying to set up an account online before the initial December 31st deadline received error messages. A problem TriWest was aware of from many users still receiving error messages while being prevented from entering the website.

TriWest continues to search for solutions to handle the number of calls they are receiving adequately but problems remain.

TRICARE West Region Problems Could Only Be the Beginning

To help improve some of the issues, if you call now, you’ll be able to keep your place in line and have TriWest call you back but the option is only available after you’ve spent 15 minutes on hold already.

Online issues have been problematic, yet the TRICARE West Region online portal is still the recommended method according to experts.

Regardless, users are reporting that TriWest has them enrolled in the wrong coverage, increasing their premiums.

Others have spent hours over the course of days trying to reach help over the phone to no avail.

Letters to beneficiaries providing incorrect information even though they are actually enrolled in the right healthcare plan.

With so much going wrong, beneficiaries aren’t putting as much faith into the new system so far. The focus now also becomes how claims for the TRICARE West Region will be handled. Only time will tell.

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