Team Little Rock’s TRICARE Office Closure

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jessica Condit
  • 19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. --  The Little Rock Air Force Base TRICARE office located at the base clinic will no longer be available as of April 1, 2014. Due to budget constraints, TRICARE will shut down its offices and become available online 24/7.

According to Walter Walker, a Humana Public Affairs representative, Little Rock AFB currently provides service to more than 250 TRICARE beneficiaries each week. Over the past 19 years, the TRICARE office has built a strong reputation with its customer base of active duty service members, retirees and their families and has provided valuable information to members of Team Little Rock.

While customers will no longer be able to walk in and speak to a representative, the options for TRICARE guidance and service provided will not go away. The TRICARE Customer Service Center will continue to provide service to the Team Little Rock beneficiaries along with other members across the globe.

Although the TRICARE office will be gone, the ability to enroll in or purchase TRICARE plans, file and check claims, view referrals and authorizations, find doctors, change primary care managers, and manage prescriptions will still be available to TRICARE customers online. TRICARE online will also ensure accounts created are secure to ease customer's concerns about personal information and alleviate stress.

The TRICARE program has changed, and evolved into an online form of communication between customers and providers. With the dissolution of the TRICARE Service Center comes the savings of an estimated $254 million over the next five years according to the TRICARE Service Centers Fact Sheet, and the opportunity for customers to have access to their TRICARE needs in their own hands. According to the TRICARE Service Centers Fact Sheet, this savings will also allow the Department of Defense to manage the rising healthcare costs of more than 9.6 million TRICARE beneficiaries without making changes to benefits, fees, or beneficiary cost-shares.

For more information, visit www.tricare.mil or call 1-800-444-5445 for enrollment in the TRICARE online program or for benefit help.