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Report: Scammers Targeting TRICARE For Life Beneficiaries With Fake Text Messages

By: Kevin Lilley

JULY 15, 2024

bjdlzx/Getty Images

TRICARE For Life (TFL) beneficiaries should be on the lookout for fake text messages claiming their health care benefit will expire, according to a recent warning from the Defense Health Agency (DHA).

Beneficiaries reported receiving a text from (888) 763-0248, with the sender claiming to be Wisconsin Physicians Service (WPS), the domestic TFL contractor. The message states the recipient is about to lose coverage “due to nonpayment” and should call the toll-free number, according to DHA.

WPS does NOT send text messages to beneficiaries, per DHA, NOR does the contractor collect money.

The scam could expand beyond TFL beneficiaries to the wider TRICARE population, according to the agency. In its alert, it reminded beneficiaries should:

• Not open links in unsolicited emails or texts.
• Not reply to unsolicited texts.
• Not provide personal information via these communications, or to any unknown person.

[PREMIUM AND LIFE MEMBER EXCLUSIVE: Transitioning Into Medicare and TRICARE For Life]

Reporting Fraud

If you have been contacted as part of this scam or any TRICARE-related fraud, DHA asks that you file a report to the appropriate agency using the following contact information:

• TRICARE For Life (WPS): Call (866) 773-0404 or email reportit@wpsic.com.
• TRICARE East Region (Humana Military): Call (800) 333-1620 or use this website.
• TRICARE West Region (Health Net Federal Services): Call (844) 886-2206, email Program.Integrity@hnfs.com, or use this website.
• TRICARE Overseas (International SOS): Call (877) 342-2503 or (215) 354-5020, email TOPProgramIntegrity@internationalsos.com, or use this website.

Reports also can be made to the DHA Office of the Inspector General. Learn more about how to file a report at this link.

More Help From MOAA

MOAA offers a range of resources to help you protect your personal data (and your bank account) from scammers of all types:

• From our financial and benefits expert: Protect Yourself From These 5 Common Fraud Schemes
• Three-part series: Don’t Be Scammed
• Recorded webinars (available to Premium and Life members): An Overview of Scams and Frauds | Outsmart the Scammers: How to Spot and Avoid Financial Fraud | Protecting Yourself From Cybercrime and Scams

MOAA also is a partner in the Cybercrime Support Network’s Military and Veteran Program, which aims to protect servicemembers, veterans, and military families from falling victim to fraud. Get more resources from that organization at this link.

Have More Questions About Your Health Care Benefit?

MOAA's TRICARE Guide answers some commonly asked questions.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kevin Lilley

Lilley serves as MOAA's digital content manager. His duties include producing, editing, and managing content for a variety of platforms, with a concentration on The MOAA Newsletter and MOAA.org. Follow him on X: @KRLilley

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President’s Message: We Honor Their Memories Through Our Actions

By: Brian T. Kelly

MAY  2024

Soldiers place American flags at headstones in Arlington National Cemetery. (Photo by Rachel Larue/Arlington National Cemetery)

As members of the Military Officers Association of America, we carry a solemn duty to honor the memory of our fallen heroes. Their courage, dedication, and selflessness serve to inspire us all and remind us of the true cost of freedom.

So many joys and freedoms possible in our country today are based on the underpinnings of people who raise their hand and volunteer. Those willing to put service before self.

This Memorial Day, let us come together as a community and pay tribute to the sacrifices of our servicemembers. Whether participating in remembrance ceremonies, visiting memorials, or simply taking a moment of reflection, let us show our deepest gratitude.

We cannot forget our Gold Star Families. Their sacrifices, often unseen and unspoken, are the foundation of our nation's strength and resilience.

In about two weeks, we will mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day. This pivotal moment in history on June 6, 1944, symbolizes the courage and sacrifice of our armed forces. The bravery displayed on the beaches of Normandy serves as a timeless reminder of the sacrifices made by those who came before us.

Through our actions and words, let us honor their memories and continue to show our unwavering support for those who serve today.

I wish you all and your families an enjoyable weekend and a meaningful Memorial Day.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, USAF (Ret), is MOAA's president and CEO. He retired from the Air Force in 2022 after more than three decades of service.
Slide photo from MOAA Website
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6 Ways MOAA Wants to Improve Your Earned TRICARE Benefits

By: Karen Ruedisueli

JULY 01, 2024

ATU Images/Getty Images

Access-to-care issues aren’t limited to TRICARE beneficiaries, especially as the entire health care industry looks for solutions to crisis-level staffing problems. But there are specific concerns faced by the Defense Health Agency (DHA), and while MOAA understands DHA can’t fix every problem or fill every billet, we remain concerned about ongoing access challenges.

MOAA brought these concerns to a recent Military Family Readiness Council (MFRC) meeting focused on changes to health care policy and implications for military families. The June 17 event chaired by Ashish Vazirani, performing the duties of the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, included a summary of recent and ongoing reforms to the military health system (MHS), short-term mitigation to constrained access, and details on DoD’s strategy to stabilize the MHS.

It also offered organizations like MOAA the chance to provide materials to the council as it prepares its recommendations to DHA. To benefit those who’ve earned “world-class care” – as noted by DoD leadership in a recent statement to Congress – we put forward the following steps:

• Standardize and Streamline Appointments: DHA has yet to install such a system despite it being required in the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Per the law, the system should be used by all military treatment facilities (MTFs) and should “ensure the needs of the covered beneficiary are met during the first … telephone call.”
   
• Improve Transparency: Introduce a digital assistance system to allow beneficiaries to report barriers to access. Such a system would allow DHA to address systemic issues unrelated to capacity constraints and other issues faced by the wider health care industry.
   
• Allow More Plan Flexibility: Simply put, beneficiaries must have the option to leave an MTF that does not meet their needs and seek care where it is available. MOAA recommends expanding TRICARE Qualifying Life Events (QLEs) to include pregnancy and access issues.
   
• Continue Urgent Care Support: DHA must maintain referral-free urgent care for TRICARE Prime families. Civilian urgent care clinics have provided a critical relief valve as MTFs have struggled with staffing shortages.
• Increase Network Oversight: There are areas where providers have the capacity to support beneficiaries seeking care outside understaffed MTFs, but they aren’t part of the TRICARE network. Some network issues, such as pediatric provider shortages raised by a council member in Newport, R.I., may be addressed by the next generation of TRICARE contracts (T-5) scheduled to start Jan. 1, 2025.
   
• Maintain Parity With Private Plans: DHA must ensure TRICARE keeps up with evolving technology and treatment protocols, federal health insurance requirements, and benchmarks established by high quality commercial plans. MOAA recognizes some TRICARE updates require legislation and will continue to advocate with Congress for fixes to TRICARE young adult and similar issues.

[TAKE ACTION: Urge Your Elected Officials to Fix the TRICARE Young Adult Coverage Gap]

MOAA appreciates MFRC and DoD leadership efforts to secure the health care servicemembers and retirees, as well as their families and survivors, have earned and deserve.

Have More Questions About Your Health Care Benefit?

MOAA's TRICARE Guide answers some commonly asked questions.

Karen Ruedisueli

Ruedisueli is MOAA’s Director of Government Relations for Health Affairs and also serves as co-chair of The Military Coalition’s (TMC) Health Care Committee. She spent six years with the National Military Family Association, advocating for families of the uniformed services with a focus on health care and military caregivers.

ACCESS THE GUIDE

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7 MOAA Legislative Priorities for Veterans in the New Year

By: René Campos

Photo by Lindsay Grant/Army

Congress has been racking up veteran-related bills and hearings throughout 2023, but to date, no major pieces of legislation have been signed into law. MOAA and other veterans organizations have been working nonstop to keep pressure on lawmakers, ensuring they don’t let important bills languish so veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors are not forgotten.

Click on the bill topics below to urge your lawmakers to do all they can to support these MOAA-backed veteran measures, and to make them a top priority when they return in January 2024:

• Protect Veterans From ‘Claims Sharks’: The GUARD VA Benefits Act (H.R. 1139 | S. 740) will impose criminal penalties on those who seek to collect unreasonable and unauthorized fees for assisting with service-connected disability claims. A veteran should never be charged to file an initial claim, and if an appeal is necessary, a veteran should not be charged excessive fees for that service.
   
• Preserve Earned Burial Benefits: The Expanding America's National Cemetery Act (H.R. 1413) ensures our nation keeps its sacred promise to past, present, and future veterans and their families. Arlington National Cemetery eventually will run out of room, and proposed eligibility reductions will end the benefit some veterans and their families have planned on for years. The bill would authorize the transformation of a VA-run national cemetery into the next location that affords military honors as Arlington reaches capacity.
   

[LEARN MORE: Arlington National Cemetery Eligibility]

• Support Children of the Fallen and Disabled Veterans: The CHAMPVA Children’s Care Protection Act (H.R. 2414 | S. 1119) would expand coverage under the VA program for children of eligible veterans so they can have health care until age 26. The goal of this legislation is to close the age parity gap for vulnerable members of our community who need support: Young adult children of veterans who are permanently and totally disabled, have died of a service-connected disability, or lost their life on active duty and did not qualify for DoD’s TRICARE program.
   
• Improve Survivors' Benefits: The Caring for Survivors Act (H.R. 1083 | S. 414) aligns payments of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) – a monetary benefit paid to the survivors of servicemembers who die while serving on active duty, or of service-connected disabled veterans – with other federal programs. DIC is paid at a monthly rate of $1,562.74, with additional allowances in certain circumstances. That works out to 43% of what a veteran with a 100% service-connected disability rating receives from the VA. However, federal survivor programs provide up to 55% of a civil servant's pay, computed as if the employee retired on disability at the date of death.
   

[LEARN MORE: This Bipartisan Bill Would Strengthen Support for Survivors of Veterans]

• Support Military Sexual Trauma Survivors: The Servicemembers and Veterans Empowerment and Support (SAVES) Act (H.R. 2441 | S. 1028) will improve military sexual trauma survivors’ access to essential care and services in the Veterans Health Administration, and ensure greater assistance when veterans are applying for disability benefits through the Veterans Benefits Administration. A series of audits by the VA Office of Inspector General revealed the VA was falling short on its support to this group of veterans.
   
• Expand and Support Services for Aging and Disabled Veterans: Two pieces of legislation, the Expanding Veterans’ Options for Long Term Care Act and the Elizabeth Dole Home and Community Based Services for Veterans and Caregivers Act, would provide the VA with critical flexibility to support a rapidly growing population of aging veterans needing long term care services outside the home, and to improve home- and community-based services for veterans and their caregivers.
   
• [LEARN MORE: Caregiver Support, Long Term Care Programs Top MOAA’s VA To-Do List]
• Allow Surviving Spouses to Remarry and Retain Benefits: The Love Lives On Act (H.R. 3651 | S. 1266) would reverse penalties faced by surviving military spouses who remarry prior to age 55. These survivors lose entitlement for DIC and survivor benefit pay, forfeit access to the Fry Scholarship, and lose commissary and exchange privileges.

MOAA and our veteran organization partners are grateful for our ongoing and open communications with the staffers on the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees; we appreciate their good faith efforts in negotiating a veterans’ package this year. However, veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors do not want another year to pass without action on these critical issues. They want Congress to make a veterans’ package a priority … and get it signed by the president sooner rather than later.

For more about MOAA’s veteran priorities, and to keep up with the latest veteran, caregiver, and survivor news and other MOAA advocacy updates, please subscribe to MOAA’s weekly newsletter, visit our Advocacy News page, and register for our Legislative Action Center. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cmdr. René Campos, USN (Ret)

Campos currently serves as MOAA's Senior Director of Government Relations, managing matters related to military and veterans’ health care, wounded, ill and injured, and caregiver policy.