FALLS CHURCH, VA -- Tricare Management Activity, the Department of Defense agency responsible for the health care of 9.2 million beneficiaries, has created two demonstration projects and a pilot program to test multiple education and prevention initiatives designed to help service members and their families battle the dangerous effects of obesity, tobacco use and excessive drinking. Tricare will release the programs within the coming months. The demonstration projects will span three years and the pilot program will cover two years from start-up.
"Preventing these unhealthy behaviors is critical to the readiness of our forces and the health of our nation as a whole," Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of Defense for Health Affairs and director of Tricare, said. "I am pleased by the successful programs already in place in the military services and the innovative approaches to prevention, education and treatment that Tricare is pursuing for their families."