DOD health care reaches out to military affected by hurricane Published Sept. 10, 2005 SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) -- As recovery and relocation efforts continue in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Department of Defense is embarking on an aggressive outreach to nearly 360,000 active duty servicemembers, retirees and their families displaced by the storm.Tricare Management Activity, the DOD agency that administers the military’s health plan, has beneficiaries who have relocated to approximately 474 evacuee sites across the United States.Tricare is dispatching staff members to a number of sites to provide face-to-face counseling with affected beneficiaries. They will advise them how to access care and answer questions about their health benefit options.“Providing accurate information and assisting with access to medical care for our beneficiaries are priorities for Tricare under these very difficult circumstances,” said Dr. William J. Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for Health Affairs. “In this time of need, all of our beneficiaries should know that Tricare stands ready to assist them, and very shortly we will have personnel on the ground to help advise and assist.” Beginning Sept. 12, officials said Tricare will deliver to evacuee shelters materials such as wallet cards, fact sheets and benefit overviews for affected beneficiaries that list customer service contacts, phone numbers, Web sites and special benefits for hurricane victims.For more information, displaced beneficiaries can call Humana Military Tricare South, the contractor for the Southern region, at 1-800-444-5445, or visit the Tricare Web site at www.tricare.osd.mil. In addition, beneficiaries can contact beneficiary counseling and assistance coordinators, debt collection assistance officers, Tricare service centers and family support representatives at local military installations.Other resources available to active duty servicemembers and their families include Military OneSource at 1-800-342-9647 or www.militaryonesource.com.