TRICARE blog better informs beneficiaries Published Oct. 14, 2008 By Tricare Pressroom FALLS CHURCH, Va. -- The deputy director of TRICARE Management Activity is using a weekly blog to communicate with beneficiaries and other readers. Sometimes it's a hot topic and sometimes it's new or "inside" information, but it's always a topic of interest to many of TRICARE's 9.2 million beneficiaries. Army Maj. Gen. Elder Granger's blog can be found on the TRICARE Web site at http://www.tricare.mil. Click on the link that says "Read MG Granger's Blog" on the right hand side of the front page. "One of the greatest goals of the MHS is to communicate with greater transparency," Granger said. He welcomes feedback from readers and a recent autism blog garnered nearly 100 comments. To offer feedback, readers can go to the recent posts section on the blog page and scroll to the bottom. In past blogs Granger has discussed issues such as autism, the shingles vaccine, the importance of children's health, and this week's discussion: "The Mystery of Authorizations and Referrals," sharing information about important authorization procedures. "TRICARE beneficiaries need to know about referrals and authorizations," said Granger in his blog. If needed, be sure to "get prior authorization so you don't have to pay for services." To receive e-alerts when a new Granger blog goes up, find out when the latest TRICARE Health Matters newsletters goes out and when new TRICARE benefits are published, visit www.TRICARE.mil and click on the TRICARE e-mail updates envelope. Over 130 subscription options are available and subscribers can manage their accounts 24/7. When benefit updates are posted, e-alerts are generated to keep beneficiaries "in the know."