TRICARE keeps retail

Mail-order will not be mandatory under the Department of Defense's TRICARE program as passed in the Defense Authorization bill (HR 5122), scoring a victory for community pharmacy. The Senate bill contained a provision that would require beneficiaries to use the TRICARE national mail-order program for refills of most long-term maintenance medications, unless waived by the Secretary of Defense based on clinical need, and eliminate cost sharing for most drugs obtained by mail. The House bill would have established lower copays for mail versus retail. While the conference report did not include these provisions, it does state that DOD is expected to "move toward providing a broad range of incentives to increase the use of the TRICARE national mail-order program"...