Summer-Fall 2026 • Hawaii Military Guide 149 ments. To confirm your provider’s current network status or to locate a new TRICARE network provider, visit the official TRICARE website or contact your regional contractor for assistance. TRICARE REFORM The 65th annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) supported a total of $913 billion in FY 2026 funding for national defense. Enhancements for 2026 directed a study on the impact of behavioral and mental health staffing shortfalls at military medical treatment facilities. New Directives: • Authorize TRICARE health providers to offer tele-mental health care services to members of the Armed Forces and dependents without regard to the location of the provider or the patient • Require the establishment of policies for the priority assignment of medical personnel of the DoD, and require the secretaries of the military departments to assign medical personnel consistent with the Secretary of Defense’s priorities • Require the establishment of a demonstration program to expand partnerships between DoD and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities for the purpose of increasing case volume for DoD graduate medical education programs • Authorize DoD to reduce or waive cost sharing amounts for prescriptions for family members enrolled in the TRICARE Remote Program • Commend the ongoing work of the Nutrition Committee and encourage the committee’s important initiatives to be widely implemented • Direct a briefing on DoD plans to share documentation with the VA regarding personnel who were exposed to radioactive material during their career so these personnel can claim their entitled VA benefits • Direct a report on DoD’s efforts to diagnose, treat and measure traumatic brain injury (TBI) throughout members’ service from the time of entry until transition to Veteran status • Establish the Defense Intrepid Network for Traumatic Brain Injury and Brain Health as a program of record in DoD • Require DoD to provide travel and transportation allowances to service members and their families to see a specialty health care provider in exceptional circumstances where such allowances are not otherwise authorized • Direct a briefing on establishing pregnancy as a Qualifying Life Event (QLE) for the purposes of TRICARE enrollment IMPORTANT CONTACTS To learn more about TRICARE: • TRICARE: Tricare.mil • TRICARE Plans: Tricare.mil/Plans • TRICARE Newsroom: Newsroom.Tricare.mil • TRICARE Publications: Tricare.mil/publications • TRICARE Costs and Fees Sheet: Tricare.mil/publications/Costs/ costs_fees • TRICARE West Region: TricareTriwest.com or Tricare.mil/west • DEERS/milConnect: milConnect.dmdc.osd.mil • MHS GENESIS: Health.mil/mhsgenesis • TRICARE Dental: Tricare.mil/Dental • TRICARE Pharmacy: Tricare.mil/Pharmacy • Express Scripts: militaryrx.express-scripts.com • BWE: Tricare.mil/BWE
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