Health Care Reform Won't Impact VA or TRICARE

For those receiving medical care through TRICARE or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Obama wants you to know: Your benefits are safe.

Eligibility for health care under VA or TRICARE "will not be affected by our efforts at broader health-care reform" Obama told military reporters at the White House on August 4.

"I want to make sure that message gets out to our veterans," the president said. "I think it's very important to get the message out: If you are in the VA system and are happy with your care, great. We have no intention of changing your eligibility."

To learn if you are a eligible for veteran's benefits or TRICARE: please visit the VA website: Health Care Eligibility and Enrollment for Veterans.

Use WhereToFindCare.com to find a Veterans Hospital or Veteran Outpatient Clinic near you.

Source: US Department of Defense Military Health System

Website Connects Soldiers to Their Families

In efforts to support military families with young children and help them stay connected, the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) and Sesame Street Workshop recently teamed up to launch a new website called Sesame Street Family Connections.

The website is a bilingual(English/Spanish) child centered online space where both children and adults can interact and stay connected. It is a private online place to keep military families connected across the globe.

With the help of their favorite Sesame Street friends, family members can compose encouraging messages to each other, share artwork and videos, and upload photos.

The website also provides helpful resources for military families with young children experiencing the effects of deployments, when a parent returns home changed due to a combat related injury and helping children cope with the death of a loved one.

Source: The Military Health System Blog