Defense Health Agency

The US Army has asked for the following disclaimer to be added to this piece.

The views expressed in this recording are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Defense Health Agency, Department of War, nor the U.S. government.

Hello and welcome to TopMedTalk.

We're coming to you live from Anesthesiology 2026, the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

Federal News Network's Rachel Cohen has more.

The Defense Health Agency's mature minor policy bars parents and guardians from attending medical appointments with their child or looking at their records without permission.

That applies to kids aged 13 to 17.

But the military is updating its electronic health record system, MHS Genesis, to let minors opt into letting their parents see their files.

Young adult select premiums are rising 8.5% to $394 a month.

The Defense Health Agency hasn't said what's behind the increase.

The National Military Family Association says the costs are a financial burden for families and is urging Congress to let dependents stay on a parent's TRICARE plan until age 26.

Open enrollment runs November 9th through December 8th.

We hope you enjoyed listening as much as we enjoyed hosting.

As a reminder, the views and opinions are the speaker's own and nothing contained herein is to be considered the official opinion of the Journal of Special Operations Medicine or the U.S. Government, including the Defense Health Agency, Department of Defense, Department of the Army, Navy, or Air Force.

For service members, that distinction is important.

Defense Health Agency guidance calls for two morning blood tests when the initial result is below 300, followed by clinical evaluation before treatment is considered.

The study therefore raises a practical question about appointment capacity, laboratory demand, counseling, and cost.

not a conclusion that one-third of older soldiers need medication.

It depends on the, the program.

So really, the Veterans Administration or, and the military, uh, health system, which is managed by the Defense Health Agency, that's really run at the federal level, and those agencies have a exemption to state law in some cases.

It's called federal preemption.

Um, so they get to do things a little bit differently because the money is federal and it, it comes down through the federal system.

So we just started as a, you know, um, either a fit of stubborn or curiosity or something, "Let's l- let's redo it.

Let's figure out what it would look like." And because I've have that history, it was hugely helpful in that endeavor.

So we created a, a kind of reform, a transformation of the, the TRICARE program we call Patriot Health, um, and have published white papers and have met with leaders in the agency, Defense Health Agency.

And i- here's what I get.