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TRICARE

What You Need to Know About New

TRICARE Pharmacy Network Options

By TRICARE Communications / Published Dec. 15, 2021
FALLS CHURCH, Va., As of Dec. 15, CVS Pharmacy is
a part of the TRICARE retail pharmacy network. At the
same time, Walmart, Sam’s Club, and some community
pharmacies are no longer a part of the TRICARE net-
work. What does this mean for you? Although the list of
retail network pharmacies (https://www.tricare.mil/net-
workpharmacy) has changed, you can still get the med-
ications you need.

“We understand that change is rarely easy,” said U.S.
Public Health Service Cmdr. Teisha Robertson, a phar-
macist with the Defense Health Agency’s Pharmacy
Operations Division. “However, we remain committed
to providing you with the highest number of convenient
nearby in-network options for filling your prescriptions.”
Prescription pill bottles sit on a shelf at Beale Air Force Base,
California. Approximately 500 prescriptions are filled every day
To help you navigate your TRICARE pharmacy network at Beale’s pharmacy. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class
options, take a look at the Q&A below. Luis A. Ruiz-Vazquez)

Q: How do I know if these changes affect my Q: How do I find a new pharmacy?
pharmacy? A: Express Scripts (https://militaryrx.express-scripts.
A: If you currently use a Walmart or Sam’s Club phar- com), the TRICARE pharmacy contractor, sent out
macy to fill your prescriptions, you should move your letters and emails to all beneficiaries directly impacted
prescription to a network pharmacy. After Dec. 15, if by these changes. These messages provided a list of
you fill a prescription at a Walmart or Sam’s Club phar- pharmacies near you. You can also use the online Find
macy, you’ll have to pay the full cost of your prescrip- a Pharmacy (https://militaryrx.express-scripts.com/
tion up front. As detailed in the TRICARE Pharmacy find-pharmacy) tool to locate a new network pharmacy
Program Handbook, you can file a claim for partial reim- in your area. Starting today, the pharmacy search tool
bursement of the cost of your medication after you’ve will reflect the new pharmacy network to include CVS
met your deductible at a non-network pharmacy. Check pharmacies. Choose the pharmacy option that works
out Filling Prescriptions to learn more. best for you.

If you use a community pharmacy, these changes may Q: How do I transfer my prescription to
also affect you. Three thousand community pharmacies another pharmacy?
also left the network. However, more than 14,000 other A: To transfer your prescription to the pharmacy of your
community pharmacies are still in the network. Are you choice, you have several options. You can:
unsure whether these changes affect your local phar- n Call your new pharmacy to transfer your
macy? You can contact them to confirm they’re still in prescription.
the TRICARE network before getting your prescription n Bring your prescription label to your new pharmacy.
filled. n Bring your prescription label to your local military
pharmacy for transfer to their system.

18 The Mariner • 2021 Winter Edition • Volume 64 • Issue 3