Tricare military health insurance leaves pregnant women with ultrasound delays, disrupted care
New and expectant mothers are facing confusion and chaos as they try to use Tricare health insurance, which covers members of the military and their families.
In the throes of postpartum depression, the incision site from her Cesarean section still tender, a U.S. Navy veteran in Indiana learned she had been dropped by her health insurance.
Some 500 miles away, in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Air National Guard member Cortney Frazon was trying to check in for a 20-week ultrasound when she discovered her doctor no longer accepted her insurance. Faced with a crushing out-of-pocket cost, she left.
In Kansas City around the same time, at least two medical providers were telling Audrey Simmons they couldn’t see her because of ongoing negotiations with her insurance, leaving her with limited options during her high-risk pregnancy.
The women were all supposed to be covered by the military’s health insurance program called Tricare — a lifelong benefit promised to many who serve, but one that has been plagued by widespread disruptions to service members, their families and the physicians who accept the insurance following a change in contracts that unleashed a cascade of unanticipated consequences.
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