FALLS CHURCH, Va. — This December, Tricare beneficiaries can take action to avoid paying more for some prescription drugs. 

Beneficiaries filling a prescription for a select brand-name maintenance drug at a retail pharmacy may need to move their prescription to either a military pharmacy or Tricare Pharmacy Home Delivery. If not, they may have to pay full cost for their prescription.

Beneficiaries can move their prescriptions by contacting the Tricare pharmacy contactor, Express Scripts (ESI) at 877-363-1303 or by using ESI’s secure online portal.

If beneficiaries are an active-duty service member, live overseas or have other prescription drug coverage, they can continue using retail pharmacies with no changes to their current copays.

The new rule began Oct. 1, but allows you to get two 30-day refills of an affected drug from a retail pharmacy. For many, those two refills will run out in December and their next prescription refill needs to be through Home Delivery or at a military pharmacy.

If taking an affected drug, beneficiaries should have received several notifications from ESI. They can also check by calling ESI at 877-363-1303.

Tricare Pharmacy Home Delivery is a safe, convenient and low-cost option to get maintenance drugs. Beneficiaries can save up to $176 a year for each brand-name drug they switch from retail to home delivery. If beneficiaries want to use a military pharmacy, they need to check first to see if they carry their drug.

For more information about this change to Tricare’s pharmacy benefit, visit http://www.tricare.mil/renewrules