Children's Hospital Colorado has filed a legal challenge to the Defense Health Agency's planned reimbursement changes to Tricare that the Aurora-based system said would significantly lower the amount it is paid for outpatient services.
The new federal rules, which were scheduled to take effect Oct. 1, would disproportionately affect its Colorado Springs location, which serves a high percentage of Tricare patients, according to an Oct. 3 news release from the pediatric health system.
The system alleges that the planned reimbursement changes would account for an almost 40 percent reduction in outpatient reimbursement and threatens its ability to maintain the current level of care for the entire Colorado Springs community, "including military and nonmilitary patients and families alike."