Ireland Army Community Hospital

The Health Benefits Office includes Beneficiary Counseling & Assistance Coordinators (BCACs), Debt Collection Assistance Officers (DCAOs) and Health Benefits Advisors (HBAs).

The BCAC portion of the office serves as beneficiary advocate in problem solving. The staff of this service will interact with other MTF staff members, managed care support contractors, and claims processors to resolve beneficiary concerns. In doing this, the staff will receive, research and assist in problem resolution. The office will monitor the problem throughout the resolution process and keep the beneficiary informed of its status. The principle is to keep it simple by solving problems as quickly as possible.

The DCAO part of the new service will deal specifically with medical claim problems which have been sent to collections offices or which appear on a negative credit report. Staff will collect all pertinent documentation, determine whether the collection notice is valid and notify the appropriate provider or collection agency that the case is being reviewed. DCAOs will attempt to resolve the problem. If the problem cannot be resolved to the beneficiary's satisfaction, the office will ensure that the beneficiary is made aware of further options available to them.

The HBA service will provide general assistance with a wide variety of health benefit questions and education. It will also provide assistance for coordination of health resources in the community. Staff members will be available to brief organizations and groups in the military family to update them on changes in the TRICARE program.

The offices are located inside the Patient Services Center on the Basement Level of Ireland Army Community Hospital near the Pharmacy.