The following is a special message from RDML Colin G. Chinn, Regional Director, TRICARE Regional Office-West
Dear TRICARE® West Region Beneficiary:
As the Regional Director for the 21-state TRICARE West Region, I, along with leaders of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard Medical Systems, am working to ensure our 2.9 million Service members, Retirees and their families receive the absolute best care.
I would like to enlist your support in a crucial education initiative currently affecting America and the military community.
Emergency Care Crisis
Our country is in the midst of a growing crisis in emergency care. Emergency rooms (ER) everywhere are experiencing overcrowding, primarily due to visits for conditions that may be better treated by primary care physicians or an urgent care center.
The Military Healthcare System is not exempt from this ER crisis.
The military community uses ERs at a rate 16 percent higher than the civilian rate (40 percent higher among children; 30 percent higher among women).
ER Costs and Your Health
The average cost for an ER visit is over 10 times more than an urgent care or primary care visit:
- ER visit (national average): $1,265
- Urgent care visit (national average): $103
- Primary care physician visit (national average): $100
Primary care physicians and medical leaders agree using an ER instead of your primary care provider for non-emergency care is not an effective way to ensure your or your family's good health.
How You Can Help
I recognize there are situations where seeing your primary care provider for same-day, non-emergency care can be challenging. TRICARE and military medical leaders are working diligently to resolve these issues.
I understand you may not know how to best utilize or access urgent care. To become more informed, please learn when to use urgent care and how to use the West Region Provider Directory in order to find an urgent care center near you.
Also, we encourage you to visit your primary care provider for routine care. As always, if you think you have having a medical emergency, call 911.
We are all responsible for ensuring our nation's emergency medical services (military and civilian) are readily available for those who truly need them.
To that end, I am enlisting your support to arm yourself with the knowledge to make informed healthcare decisions for you and your family.
I am confident that with your support, we can achieve these goals.
Sincerely,
Colin G. Chinn
RDML, MC, USN
Regional Director
TRICARE Regional Office-West
