The Army Reserve, aside from those receiving care through the VA, has a different take on telehealth.

New approaches to delivering health care to everyone who is or has served and their dependents – from a variety of plans to meet a variety of needs and circumstances, to implementing the latest technologies to assist both patients and providers – have dramatically changed the face of DOD and VA health services.

“At this time, the Reserve does not employ any telemedicine or telehealth care because we have a number of providers through TRICARE Select or on active duty with TRICARE Prime,” according to Army Reserve deputy surgeon for Health Affairs, Policy & Fiscal Administration Col. Joe Ignazzitto. “There is eligibility for telehealth for 180 days after return from deployment.”

Although the Reserve does not have its own system of doctors and nurses, it does have medical personnel in its ranks.

“Our Reserve physicians, nurses, combat medics, and other health care personnel routinely work in a civilian setting, but focus on the military environment during their weekend duty and drills,” he said. “When a reservist is on duty more than 30 days, dependents are eligible for benefits; whenever a reservist is on duty, he/she is referred to a military medical facility, where they are seen the same as an active duty soldier.”

The Army Reserve Medical Management Center, under the Defense Health Agency, is a centralized process that case-manages Reserve soldiers from their point of injury.

“Today’s medical benefits for reservists are head-and-shoulders above where they were in the past. We ensure all the benefits available to service members are available to reservists and [ensure] the highest medical readiness of our soldiers to call to combat. The good news is we continue to improve, both internal to the Army Reserve and DOD-wide, and that all checks and balances are done so those programs are in place for reservists as well as active component soldiers,” he said.

“The Army Select Medical Readiness Program started in 2009 to improve the overall readiness and health of our soldiers. There was no health benefit available [for reservists] until TRICARE Reserve Select went into effect in the Defense Authorization Act of 2005. Current law says the Army Reserve will go down to 195,000, but I’ve seen nothing indicating that will diminish any health benefit an Army Reserve soldier is entitled to receive.”

New approaches to delivering health care to everyone who is or has served and their dependents – from a variety of plans to meet a variety of needs and circumstances, to implementing the latest technologies to assist both patients and providers – have dramatically changed the face of DOD and VA health services.

Tricare plans

TRICARE Prime – includes:

• TRICARE Prime Remote and Prime Remote for Active Duty Family Members – managed care option available in remote areas in the United States, usually more than 50 miles (or one hour’s drive time) from a military hospital or clinic.
• TRICARE Young Adult Prime, Prime Overseas, and Prime Remote covers:

*Active duty service members and their families
*Retired service members and their families
*Activated Guard/Reserve members and their families
*Non-activated Guard/Reserve members and their families who qualify for care under the Transitional Assistance Management Program
*Retired Guard/Reserve members (age 60 and receiving retired pay) and their families
*Survivors
*Medal of Honor recipients and their families
*Qualified former spouses

TRICARE Standard and Extra and TRICARE Standard Overseas
A fee-for-service plan available to all non-active duty beneficiaries; Standard Overseas has higher out-of-pocket costs than the overseas Prime options

TRICARE for Life
Secondary coverage to TRICARE beneficiaries who have both Medicare Parts A & B.

TRICARE Reserve Select
Premium-based health plan for qualified National Guard and Reserve members

TRICARE Retired Reserve
Premium-based health plan for qualified retired Reserve members and survivors

TRICARE Young Adult
Premium-based worldwide health plan for qualified adult children of eligible sponsors

U.S. Family Health Plan
Option available through networks of community-based, not-for-profit health care systems in six areas of the United States for:

• Active-duty family members
• Retired service members and their families
• Family members of Activated National Guard/Reserve members
• Non-activated National Guard/Reserve members and their families who qualify for care under the Transitional Assistance Management Program
• Retired National Guard/Reserve members (age 60 and receiving retired pay) and their families
• Survivors
• Medal of Honor recipients and their families
• Qualified former spouses

This article was first published in The Year in Veterans Affairs & Military Medicine 2015-2016 edition.