Healthcare Programs - Essay Example

TRICARE represents the healthcare program utilizing military healthcare systems as the main providers. This program is funded and supported through civilian providers and facilities, and includes provision of healthcare services to military personnel and their families of the USA, past or presently active. The introduction of tricare was primarily a strategy in the eighties and the nineties, in response to the increased healthcare costs in the USA, as well as the changes in the modernization trends.

Tricare was perceived to be a feasible and economic way to save costs while improving access and choice to healthcare services. The development of TRICARE has expanded significantly, and has now come to be a part of 40% of the USA hospitals. Increasingly high numbers of healthcare personnel and providers now form a part of the TRICARE provision team. (Carrato, 2003) The effectiveness of Tricare is very evident if comparing to other healthcare systems such as CHAMPVA. The differences run from basic infrastructures of the plans.

While TRICARE, formerly CHAMPUS, is a medical insurance program carried out by the department of defense, CHAMPVA is run through VA. The members differ with regards to their status as retired or non retired from military services, tricare being entertaining to the retired personnel. CHAMPVA restricts itself to those who are either 100% disabled personnel, or either dead. This does not to be so for tricare patients. CHAMPVA does not entertain veterans, which forms a large part of the tricare members.

Also, CHAMPVA has rules about access and obtaining of prescriptions. The above mentioned differences help to understand some of the key differences that make tricare a much superior healthcare program over others. (Tricare for life, 2001) Tricare has many services at its disposal, which are both comprehensive as well as targeted in their approach to diseases. The triple option benefit in the system allows the enrollment of many people with a wide range of healthcare services. Now it has become active in the advanced medical areas of cancers, along with including age old programs of immunizations etc.

The scope of tricare therefore is very vast, with much promise of improvement. Tricare gives these services through a range of programs, which include the Prime Preventive Services, the Pharmacy Program, and Dental Coverage etc. Tricare has proven its worth through its impressive reports of its performances. Perhaps the most demonstrative of Tricare's effectiveness is looking at the claims processing capacity and the speed with which these are carried out. Around 755 of the claims are addressed within 21 days of being placed, an impressive statement of the quality and the efficiency of Tricare.

(Bailey, 1999) With the projected increase of health costs by7.3% by the year 2011, Tricare's potential role in reducing these costs is highly promising. (Carrato, 2003) One of the proof that tricare has shown constant delivery with respect to healthcare is its successful maintenance of its enrollment fee. The active duty members have almost no costs for care, which is provided in the military settings. Pay for a service is very high