The ER or Urgent Care: Making the Decision 2/26/2014 When we're in pain or sick, we're anxious and it can be hard to think straight. We want relief as soon as possible. When a child is hurt or ill, the anxiety can be even greater. In those moments, it is can be hard to determine if you need to go to the emergency room, an emergency center, or if an urgent care center will do. It's important to make that distinction because making the wrong choice will cost both time and money. Generally, if a condition is threatening to life, limb or eyesight, or causes the beneficiary to require relief from pain, it is considered an emergency and calls for a trip to the emergency room. TRICARE defines an emergency department as an organized, hospital-based facility available 24 hours a day providing emergency services to patients who need immediate medical attention. Emergency departments affiliated with a hospital are most likely TRICARE-authorized providers. Beneficiaries and their families will get the appropriate level of care and save money by having urgent care needs met in urgent care facilities. Over the last two decades, over 9,000 urgent care centers have emerged across the country and this may lead to more urgent care facilities in an area than emergency rooms. However, beneficiaries who seek care at emergency centers need to ask if it is affiliated with a hospital-based emergency department. If it isn't, the beneficiary will need to make a decision about getting care elsewhere or being responsible for those facility charges. Beneficiaries can check if a provider is TRICARE-authorized by calling their regional contractor. Contact information for regional contractors is available at www.tricare.mil/callus. Learn more about emergency care under TRICARE at www.tricare.mil/emergency. Last Updated 2/27/2014 SOURCE: TRICARE News Release at http://www.tricare.mil/LiveWell/HLArticles/Archives/02_26_14_URGENTOREMERGENCY.a spx Breastfeeding Provides Real Health Benefits 2/20/2014 Breastfeeding is special for so many reasons. TRICARE supports healthy behavior and breastfeeding has health benefits not only for the mother and child, but for the family and community as well. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breastfeeding is one of the most effective steps a mother can take to protect the health of her baby. Studies have shown that children who are breastfed are spared a number of prevalent childhood illnesses like ear infections, colds, and asthma. It is also reported that breastfed children are less like to suffer from childhood obesity. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and continued breastfeeding for at least the first year as foods are introduced. Health guidance and counseling (including breast feeding and nutrition) is included in TRICARE's well-child coverage <http://www.tricare.mil/CoveredServices/SeeWhatsCovered/WellChildCare.aspx> from birth to age six. TRICARE also covers electric hospital-grade breast pumps <http://www.tricare.mil/CoveredServices/SeeWhatsCovered/BreastPump.aspx> for premature infants who meet certain criteria <http://www.tricare.mil/faq?search=breast%20pump> . The breast pump may be covered for use in the hospital, and in certain cases, if the physician can prove medical necessity, for home use.Medically-necessary services during labor and delivery including anesthesia, fetal monitoring, and other services required for care during a beneficiary's hospital stay are also covered. This includes lactation counseling services if provided during an inpatient maternity stay and included in the facility's allowed amount. Over the last 25 years, the Surgeons General of the United States have worked to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding. Better infant health means fewer health insurance claims, less employee time off to care for sick children, and higher productivity, all of which concern employers and the communities they support. TRICARE acknowledges the ability to breastfeed is a great privilege and fully supports families who make this healthy choice. Last Updated 2/20/2014 SOURCE: TRICARE News Release at http://www.tricare.mil/LiveWell/HLArticles/Archives/02_20_14_BreastfeedingProvid esHealthBenefits.aspx NOTICE: Links to archived copies of this and other mailing list messages, subscribe \unsubscribe instructions and other useful information for active duty, retirees and veterans, and their families, are available on the LINKS FOR MIL\RET\VETS website at www.hostmtb.org