When a hurricane, wildfire or tornado tears through a community, the most visible impact is the destruction left in its wake. But for veterans with significant medical conditions, another challenge can arise: obtaining the medications they need to treat and manage their conditions.
That’s where the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Community Care Network (CCN) Disaster Pharmacy Benefit comes in. Tria Federal worked with third-party administrators to enable veterans displaced by natural disasters to have their VA prescriptions filled at CCN pharmacies anywhere in the country.
“If a hurricane hits Florida and a veteran goes to stay with family in New York because their home is damaged or destroyed, the veteran could utilize the benefit in New York, for example,” said Arielle Warner, a Tria staff consultant.
The CCN gives veterans access to quality health care from non-VA providers. Without the CCN Disaster Pharmacy Benefit, a veteran who is forced to temporarily relocate to another region or state due to a natural disaster could run into difficulty filling their prescription.
“The reality is someone needs to pay for that, and it needs to be documented. We don’t want the veteran to have to deal with any of that,” said Chris Garner, a Tria director. “We just want them to be able to walk into a pharmacy and get the medication they need. Tria figured out how to make that happen for VA.”
Since Tria supported the benefit’s implementation in 2023, it has been activated twice – once after a typhoon struck Guam, and again when a tornado hit Mississippi.
To make the process seamless, Tria staff created a nationwide training guide and standard operating procedures as a resource for VA staff, facilitated more than 20 trainings to CCN pharmacy chiefs and care coordinators, and developed process improvement initiatives and risk mitigation plans.
The CCN Disaster Pharmacy Benefit is always on standby and ready to be activated at a moment’s notice. Unlike other similar programs, it is not tied to one CCN pharmacy provider, which maximizes access for veterans who are already coping with displacement and property damage.
Learn more about Tria’s support for the Department of Veterans Affairs.