Our Veterans Deserve Easier Access to Their Medications
Across the country, growing demand for 24-hour pharmacies is leading many retailers to offer expanded hours and more convenient clinical services. But because of an outdated military prescription drug system, many veterans are unable to share in this round-the-clock access to care. It’s time to change this system and allow our nation’s heroes to get their medications as easily as anyone else.
Compared to their civilian counterparts, veterans often face a greater need for prescription medications as a result of their service. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, two-thirds of all veterans who use the Veterans Health Administration have at least one chronic health condition. Veterans also have an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes — conditions that often require long-term maintenance medications.
Unfortunately, these health challenges are often compounded by the difficulties veterans face in acquiring their medications. Currently, the more than 9 million beneficiaries of TRICARE — the Department of Defense health insurance program for service members, veterans and their families — are forced to refill their maintenance medications at military treatment facilities (MTF) or via mail order pharmacies.
For many veterans, these options can cause unnecessary headaches, as MTFs are scattered across the country; in some states, these facilities are few and far between. Throughout my 12 years in the Army Reserves, I heard many service members and veterans express frustration with the inconvenient pharmacy hours at their nearest MTF. Most are only open until 5 p.m. and are closed on weekends and federal holidays.
As a result, not only do TRICARE beneficiaries have to spend money on gas to travel to their nearest MTF, many must sacrifice an entire day to do so. Then, once they arrive at an MTF, patients must wait in line and cannot leave until they receive their medication — a process that can take an hour or more.
TRICARE beneficiaries can avoid some of this inconvenience by opting to use mail order pharmacies, but those have their own drawbacks. Mail order makes it harder for patients to establish a personal relationship with their pharmacist, which studies have shown is crucial to ensuring patients’ stick with their treatments. Patients who pick up their medications from a retail pharmacy are more likely to take their prescribed doses.
Fortunately, Congress gave our veterans hope for a potential solution last year when it authorized the Defense Department to create a pilot program for TRICARE beneficiaries. This program would allow them to pick up their maintenance medications from retail pharmacies and study the pharmacies’ ability to offer prescriptions at the current system’s prices.
After sacrificing so much, our veterans should have the same convenient access to their medicines as anyone else does. The Defense Department should work to implement the program approved by Congress and begin providing our veterans and their families the quality service and care they deserve.
Chad Souers is a Regional Director for Health and Wellness at Walmart, based in Birmingham, AL. He served for 12 years in the United States Army Reserve.
