Don’t Delay – Start the Collections Process Today

Receiving a letter or a negative report from a collections agency can be stressful. However, as a TRICARE beneficiary, you have options for seeking help to resolve outstanding claims and clean up your credit.

Debt Collection Assistance Officers

Every military treatment facility (MTF) staffs government collections specialists, or Debt Collection Assistance Officers (DCAO). DCAOs provide assistance to beneficiaries for health care related debt collection issues. You may locate the nearest DCAO in the BCAC/DCAO Directory at http://www.tricare.mil/bcacdcao/.

A DCAO will research your claim with the claims processor or other agency points of contact and provide you with a written explanation of how to resolve your collection problem. The DCAO will need all documentation associated with a collection action or adverse credit rating, including debt collection letters, TRICARE Explanations of Benefits (EOBs), and medical/dental bills from providers. The DCAO cannot provide you with legal advice or fix your credit rating, but can help you through the debt collection process by providing you with documentation for your use with the collection or credit reporting agency in explaining the circumstances relating to the debt.

Collection Specialists at TriWest

You may also seek assistance from TriWest Collection Specialists. Collection Specialists work closely with DCAOs at the MTF but also work to resolve cases submitted to TriWest.

TriWest closes collection cases within 10 business days from receiving the case by working with the collection agency, the provider and the beneficiary. Once the case is closed, the Collection Specialist will send a letter to you, the collection agency and the provider.

To submit a collection issue to TriWest, you will need to complete a Collection Resolution Request Form and send it along with copies of the letter from the collection agency, statements of balance billing from the provider and any explanation of benefits. The more information you can provide, the faster TriWest can determine the cause of the problem. You may send these documents by fax or mail to the address on the top of the Collection Resolution Request Form.

The Collection Specialists are not able to repair a beneficiary’s credit report or FICA score or provide legal advice. However, beneficiaries may visit www.ftc.gov for more direction to correct their credit.