Tricare Now Covering Portable CPAP Machines for Deployed Troops

Tricare is now covering portable Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machines backdated to Jan. 24, 2019, if certain conditions are met, a Tricare official confirmed via email Monday.

If a service member has been diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and is being deployed or travels on official business at least three days a month, Tricare will cover the full cost of that active-duty member's respiratory sleep aid through the supplemental health care program.

Tricare switched from an individual to a blanket waiver for these active-duty members at the request of the service branches, the official said.

"With deployments and frequent travel, having a portable CPAP device would increase compliance and medical readiness," he wrote.

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OSA affects nearly 30 million adults in the United States, but about 23.5 million of those cases are undiagnosed, according to a 2016 American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) report.

A leader in the sleep field, AASM also found OSA patients using positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy had improved health outcomes, with the number of heart attacks expected over a 10-year period reduced by nearly half and the 10-year risk of stroke down by 31%.

There are two more requirements for coverage: The service member cannot be retiring or separating from the military within the year and the portable device must have humidification and battery capability.

Eventually, Tricare will not cover a standard CPAP device if the member already has a portable one.

The policy change does not apply to Variable Positive Airway Pressure (VPAP) or Adaptive Servo-Ventilation (ASV) machines.

-- Dorothy Mills-Gregg can be reached at dorothy.mills-gregg@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @DMillsGregg.

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