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The link between the military health system and managed care is determined by the common bond shared between combat medicine, garrison medicine or the military treatment facility, and military health policy. Throughout history the primary purpose of military medicine is to provide health care services to soldiers during peacetime and war, stateside or abroad, given the imposition of financial and utilization constraints. The management of military health care extends through the nation’s wars, shaped by health policy, and is apportioned by beneficiary eligibility. Although garrison and combat medicine have purposefully evolved independent of each other, initiatives in military health policy have transcended the gap between combat medicine and managed care. Given the progression of managed military health care, from CHAMPUS to TRICARE, coupled with a changing military environment, it has evolved to meet the health care demands of today’s military forces, and alludes to a glimpse of future military health care initiatives. |
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