By MOAA Staff

 

MOAA’s Member Service Center (MSC) offers all manner of support to our members, fielding questions on membership benefits and renewals, connecting members with on-staff experts, providing details on MOAA advocacy positions, and performing many more duties.

 

These duties have continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. While MSC representatives are working remotely, they’ve continued to respond to your member needs and concerns. Not surprisingly, many of these concerns in recent weeks have had to do with health care.

 

 

Below, you’ll find answers to some of the most common questions received by the MSC in recent weeks. Not seeing what you’re seeking? Learn how you can contact the MSC here.

 

Q. I’m having trouble filling my medications. What should I do?

 

A. Rest assured, MOAA is tracking issues with prescriptions affected by COVID-19 closely. Many pharmacies, both military and civilian, are experiencing shortages of many medications because of COVID-19.

 

If you are using the pharmacy at a military treatment facility, we recommend switching to Express Scripts home delivery; TRICARE has yet to report any shortages for that service, though they are placing restrictions on the amount that can be ordered for new prescriptions as a precaution.

 

MOAA continues to engage with TRICARE and Express Scripts to protect pharmacy benefits during this crisis, and to keep our members and the military community informed about any changes in response to the coronavirus. You can read more on this issue on our site here.  

 

Q. Express Scripts filled my existing mail order prescription with a 30-day supply instead of 90 days. Why?

 

A. As a precaution against shortages, Express Scripts is restricting new prescriptions to 30-day supplies. If you switched to Express Scripts’ home delivery service recently, you may be included in this policy despite having taken the medication for years.

 

Q. Why is the copay for a mail order 30-day supply the same as for a 90-day supply?

 

A. MOAA is aware of this concern and in complete agreement that the disproportionate copays on smaller orders are an unfair and harmful policy. We are engaging with TRICARE and Express Scripts with the goal of waiving Express Scripts pharmacy copays in light of the ongoing virus.

 

[TAKE ACTION: Ask Congress to Waive TRICARE Mail Order Pharmacy Copays During the COVID-19 Emergency]

 

Q. How has COVID-19 affected MOAA’s legislative agenda?

 

A. MOAA has kept a keen focus on protecting health benefits and securing beneficiary access to providers during the pandemic. Our annual advocacy event, Storming the Hill, successfully engaged members of Congress virtually in support of stopping medical billet cuts. We believe military leaders must examine lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis and incorporate these lessons into the broader strategy for military health care restructuring.     

 

MOAA’s Government Relations department, as well as the rest of our staff, continues to monitor the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the uniformed services.

 

Through our advocacy events and beyond, MOAA will continue to fight to protect our servicemembers’ earned compensation and benefits to the best of our ability; MOAA’s latest advocacy news is available here.