On Jan. 1, 2018 the three current Tricare regions will combine to form just two regions, meaning military families may face delays in enrollment or be assigned new primary care managers.

Tricare members in the north and south regions will become part of the new Tricare East Region, managed by Humana Military. Members currently west region will remain in the west region, managed by Health Net Federal Services, LLC.

As the change takes place, Tricare officials said there will be a delay for Tricare Prime enrollments and changes to primary care managers while files are transferred to Humana Military. A new network provider locator is already available online at humanamilitary.com/east.

Any current referrals and authorizations that were scheduled to carry over into 2018 remain valid. Check your referral sheet to see if your authorization was valid through 2018 or if it expired in December 2017.

On Jan. 1, 2018, all EOBs, referrals, authorizations, eligibility and claims details will be available at humanamilitary.com

All military families must be enrolled in a Tricare plan in order for Tricare to pay for civilian care. Not sure if you are? Visit Tricare.mil/DEERS. You can also set up automated, monthly payments at humanamilitary.com to prevent an interruption in coverage.

Finally, in 2018 Tricare Select will replace Tricare Standard and Tricare Extra. If you are enrolled in Tricare Prime you will remain in Tricare prime.

Many civilian companies use December as a benefits enrollment period. This is a great time to compare your Tricare benefits with any civilian employment benefits your spouse or retired military member may receive to make sure you are not paying for coverage that does not add to your overall benefits.