This is an e-mail I recieved from military.com
171K May Soon Lose TRICARE Prime
Week of November 12, 2012
Defense officials are expected to announce that military retirees and their dependents that live more than 40 miles from a military treatment facility or BRAC (base closure) site will lose access to TRICARE Prime as early as next April. This move could force as many as 171,000 retirees to shift to TRICARE Standard, which would mean an increase in out-of-pocket costs--especially those with special needs dependents or other chronic health issues. The first round of Prime service changes is "tentatively" planned to go into effect in the West region on April 1. The North and South regions will see the plan implemented by October