Year-round Enrollment in USFHP Approved at Martin's Point Health Care

Military retirees, families now eligible to sign up for TRICARE Prime program any time of year

Military retirees and dependents may now enroll year-round in the Uniformed Services Family Health Plan at Martin's Point Health Care, a designated provider of the plan's TRICARE Prime managed-care program.

Previously, eligible retired military beneficiaries - including enrollees aged 65 and older - were only allowed to sign up for the health plan during a one-month enrollment period each year. (Family members of active duty military personnel, however, always have been able to enroll at any time.)

The decision to allow continuous enrollment for all eligible beneficiaries followed successful pilot programs in Boston, New York and Seattle.

"Continuous enrollment will provide military beneficiaries, including seniors, with the convenience and peace of mind to enroll in the plan any time," said Dr. David Howes, M.D., the chief medical officer and the US Family Health Plan program director at Martin's Point. "The plan continues to live up to the promise of providing a lifetime of quality health care."

The US Family Health Plan, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense, is available to families of active duty military personnel, retirees and their eligible family members. The plan provides TRICARE Prime to about 100,000 people through networks of community-based civilian hospitals and physicians in seven areas across the nation. In Maine and southern New Hampshire, it is provided through Martin's Point.

Maine's largest primary care practice, Martin's Point serves more than 18,000 US Family Health Plan members, as well as about 36,000 patients under other major commercial health plans.

An independent survey last year found that nearly 90 percent of military dependents and retirees served by Martin's Point are satisfied with their health plan. The 89.5 overall satisfaction percentage was nearly 20 percent higher than the 2000 national average of 70.2 percent among comparable military programs.

Moreover, according to a 2001 survey conducted by Market Street Research, the US Family Health Plan maintains a patient satisfaction rating that is significantly higher than the national average for commercial managed care plans.

Established in 1981, Martin's Point is a not-for-profit health care provider with facilities in Portland, Brunswick and Windham, Maine, and in Portsmouth, N.H. Martin's Point has a staff of more than 300 health care professionals and serves 54,000 patients under all major health plans.

Martin's Point serves patients in the areas of family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, radiology, cardiology, and mammography, as well as other fields. In addition, Martin's Point continues to attract attention for its innovative approach to health care. For additional information on Martin's Point Health Care, visit online at www.martinspoint.org.

# # #