Colorado senators say Children's Hospital Colorado could go out-of-network for patients on TRICARE

“Military families across the West rely on Children’s Hospital Colorado – especially those with very ill or medically fragile children. Service members’ children deserve the best medical care available, and the possibility that Children’s Hospital Colorado would be out-of-network for TRICARE users on January 1st is unacceptable. We call on TRICARE and CHCO to come to the table, ensure fair reimbursement rates, and fulfill their duty to military families to provide access to the health care they need.”

"The statement that has been shared with media may be confusing for families. Children’s Hospital Colorado is not fully “going out of network” with TRICARE as most people would understand that term. However, we have been and continue to be in active negotiations that will impact our network status with TriWest Healthcare Alliance (TriWest), which will take over as the TRICARE West Region administrator on Jan. 1, 2025.   

Our priority at this time is notifying impacted families of this situation and providing answers to questions and concerns we know they will have about our network status and how it impacts their care. This information will be – and has at all times been planned to be – communicated as soon as possible to families.  That date was and continues to be on Wednesday, Dec. 18.

For the past 18 months, we have engaged with Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper, bipartisan members of the Colorado House delegation; members of Congress; and children’s hospitals across the country to actively advocate on the issue of and military kids' access to care. We are grateful for the efforts of our members of Congress. Because this issue is related to federal funding for military families, members of Congress are integral to finding a solution and ensuring continued access to pediatric specialty care for our patients."