PHOENIX, May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- TriWest Healthcare Alliance, the TRICARE West Region health services support contractor, on June 1 will begin providing access to quality health care services for military men and women, retirees and eligible family members in Washington, Oregon and northern Idaho. This transition is part of the Department of Defense's (DoD) next generation of health care contracts in which three regional contractors will provide improved customer service, easier access to care and a reduced need for transferring Prime beneficiaries' enrollment when moving.
Operating under a five-year, $10 billion Defense Department contract awarded last August, TriWest's service area has expanded from 16 to 21 western states, including Washington, Oregon and northern Idaho (TriWest manages the rest of Idaho under the existing Central Region contract). TriWest selected Tacoma, WA, for one of its five hub-office locations to most efficiently serve its expanded region and the extensive military presence in Puget Sound and surrounding areas.
"TriWest is in the business of caring, so we feel very proud and quite privileged to serve the deserving service men and women based and living in the Northwest region of the U.S., as well as their eligible family members, retirees and their eligible family members," said TriWest President and CEO David McIntyre. "We look forward to fulfilling our commitment to TRICARE by doing 'Whatever It Takes' to serve America's military families in the Northwest beginning June 1."
TriWest will be assisted in managing the TRICARE program in Washington, Oregon and northern Idaho by leveraging the provider networks of The Regence Group affiliate plans in those states. The Regence Group plans, which are licensed affiliates of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and serve as TriWest owners and network subcontractors, are Regence BlueShield (in Washington), Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, and Regence BlueShield of Idaho.
TriWest's Northwest operation, with 80 employees in Tacoma and another 45 at offices throughout Washington, Oregon and northern Idaho, is led by Market Vice President George Cargill.
"I am very pleased that the transition to TriWest is proceeding as scheduled," said Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. "While our military treatment facilities remain the core of the military health system, our regional contractors are important partners, providing additional providers and facilities for our beneficiaries through a civilian network."
The second of the three-phase West Region transition will take place on July 1, when beneficiaries in California, Hawaii and Alaska will become part of TRICARE West. The final phase of this new expanded West Region will take place on Oct. 1 and will include the beneficiaries living in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and western Texas. The West Region includes the current TRICARE Regions 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.
Formed from an alliance of 11 Blue Cross Blue Shield plans and two university hospitals expressly to bid on the first generation of TRICARE contracts, TriWest Healthcare Alliance began operations in 1996 when it was named one of four managed-care support contractors for the military health system and awarded a $2.5 billion, five-year contract.
"TriWest's unique approach of having respected locally-based health care entities -- our owners -- build and manage our provider networks has maximized health care access for beneficiaries in remote communities throughout the Central Region -- and we believe this innovative model will be equally effective in the West Region," McIntyre noted. "To best serve the five new states TriWest will manage in the West, we have added four additional Blue Cross Blue Shield plans to our ownership and network subcontracting base -- Regence BlueShield (Washington), Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, Blue Shield of California and Hawaii Medical Service Association." In Alaska, TriWest will support the DoD's network-contracting efforts.
TriWest Healthcare Alliance is the largest Arizona-based DoD contractor. It employs approximately 1250 people and holds the 17th largest DoD contract in the United States for 2003. With the award of the West Region contract, TriWest more than doubles its customer base from 1.2 million to 2.6 million beneficiaries.
About TriWest
TriWest Healthcare Alliance is a Phoenix-based corporation that partners with the Department of Defense to provide access to cost-effective, high-quality health care for 2.6 million members of America's military family in the 21-state TRICARE West Region, which is comprised of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming and western Texas. For more information, visit http://www.triwest.com/.
TriWest Healthcare AllianceCONTACT: Jim Kassebaum of TriWest Healthcare Alliance, +1-602-564-2546,jkassebaum@triwest.com
Web site: http://www.triwest.com/
