ABC reports the guardsmen shot in DC gave a thumbs up to questions. It was reported he is stable condition in a local hospital under heavy guard
I thought all active military servicemen use a base hospital? Does that include active National Guard?
He wouldn’t need armed guards on a secure military base.
Such hospitals probably dont have a trauma team on standby (and if they do they probably dont have as much recent experience as the public hospitals)
I worked for a TRICARE call center for a few years, over a decade ago, and a lot has changed, but…
Even then there was a shift in emphasis from having all military (including active duty National Guard) get on-base care, to opening up outside options. That let a lot of bases economize on services offered, made things slightly easier for getting an off base specialist in the most optimistic views…
It didn’t work out that way though. Very few specialists wanted to have negotiated rates with Tricare, and fewer still wanted any NEW clients. So we were referring service members and their dependents ever further to find any scheduled care, at the time I left, I think it was up to 75 miles!
In general, like a lot of insurance, emergency care was normally covered, but there could be substantial copays or additional costs to the servicemember above what was usual and customary. I surprises me not at all that there wouldn’t be an equipped full service ICU anywhere close to DC.
Emergency Care
In an emergency, you may seek care at a network provider.
- Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
- You may need to pay up front and file a claim for reimbursement.
- Keep all receipts and file claims in the region where you live, not where you get the care.
- Call your PCM or military hospital or clinic within 24 hours of getting care or the next business day.
Note that second bullet, because that can get crazy expensive even if Tricare eventually pays the majority.
Well the Miltary personel would have TRI-CARE. It’s insurance. I’m sure it would behoove the person or their family to notify his command to get it covered.
They were rushed to the nearest trauma center, of course.
They may be transferred later to a Military base.
I didn’t think about a Trauma center. That was certainly needed for both guardsmen. The woman died from her wounds.
Thank you for the information about changes with Tricare.
My son was injured as an active Reservist.
He was at a trauma center here in state. But when it was seen he needed specialized surgery and care they transferred him to Tennessee (not that far away, but far enough and during the Pandemic)
His rehab was in Tennessee after a brief visit home. That was hard. But no place here would do it.
Tricare was sloooooooowly paying. He was getting all sorts of ‘gonna turn it over to collections’ letters. On the phone everyday. It finally got paid enough they quit dunning him.
Yeah, just another symptom of the healthcare crisis. For our Vets and active military. The worst! IMO