"The completion of the Tricare North Region transition marks an important milestone in our transformation of military healthcare services," said Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. "This new structure not only enhances our customer service efforts, increases benefit portability and improves access to care, but it also is designed to make our beneficiaries partners in managing the spectrum of their own health needs."

Health Net Federal Services Inc. (Health Net), a government operations division of Health Net Inc., based in Sacramento, Calif., will provide healthcare services and support to the 2.85 million beneficiaries in the North Region, who may access healthcare information by contacting Health Net at (877) Tricare, (877) 874-2273, or http://www.healthnetfederalservices.com . North Region eligible beneficiaries, who are not in Tricare Prime, will have the opportunity to enroll. Health Net also provides beneficiaries with: information on enrollment and network providers; procedures for filing claims; contacts for Tricare assistance; view claim processing status and patient claims history; and locate a Tricare service center (TSC) or visit the virtual TSC, as well as access various programs that allow beneficiaries to manage their own health care.

Military treatment facilities (MTFs) in all regions remain at the core of the military health system and its Tricare Online Web site, http://www.tricareonline.com provides beneficiaries additional interactive tools and up-to-date, accurate information on a variety of health matters, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Tricare Online also includes a medical dictionary, the new "Rx Checker" to find drug-and-drug or drug-and-food interactions, an online health journal and more. For information on the Tricare benefit, beneficiaries may visit http://www.tricare.osd.mil or consult their service and/or local MTF.