Health Care of Military Kids - January Military Dinner Table Conversation
How Easy/Hard Is It for You to Get Care for Your Kids?
Accessing health care has been a challenge since COVID. For military families, frequent moves make it challenging to get consistent care, especially specialized or preventive services. How easy or hard is it for you to get health care for your military children? From calling TRICARE to filling out reimbursement forms, to getting on waitlists to getting care overseas or even finding a way to pay for things that are unexpectedly not covered, the challenges are varied. Across the nation and especially in rural areas, it's tough to access medical services quickly. Mental health services for children often face shortages, and a lack of pediatricians can lead to delays in routine care. The digital divide also limits the potential of telehealth services, leaving families with fewer options. To tackle these issues, we need a comprehensive approach for a healthier future where every child can thrive without being held back by healthcare challenges.
Please come prepared to share your experiences getting your child the care they need. If you can’t join us for the event, please register and email me your stories!
Upcoming Dinner Table Conversations:
PCSing
Date: January 23, 2024
Session 1: 12 Noon EST
Session 2: 8 pm EST
Host: Jennifer Barnhill
Guest: Kara Tollett Oakley, JD of Tricare for Kids Coalition (read Kara’s bio below)
Register and share with others in the community!
All about Kara
As principal of Oakley Capitol Consulting, LLC, Kara’s practice focuses on public policy, strategy and advocacy.
Having devoted much of her career to representation of children’s hospitals, she has developed expertise in children’s health policy and healthcare financing. Kara has positioned children’s hospitals to thrive in a complex Department of Defense health care system, improved child health coverage and access to care, and accomplished millions of dollars in reimbursement improvements and recoupment of underpayments.
Kara is proud of accomplishments such as crafting the seminal legislation to improve healthcare for military children, Tricare for Kids, and shepherding it through Congress in the National Defense Authorization Act; ensuring concurrent hospice coverage for children of military families; and improving access and coverage of respite care and other critical services for families impacted by complex and chronic health conditions.
Always a problem-solver, Kara appreciates the challenges inherent in politics and policy. She excels in identifying common ground and crafting innovative approaches, such as community partnerships and strategic alliances, to achieve goals. Kara founded and leads the Tricare for Kids Coalition, stakeholders committed to improving policy and practices to meet the unique needs of children in military and veteran families.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee and Florida State University College of Law with honors, Kara is thrilled to have two kiddos pursuing law degrees, one at each of her alma maters. She and her husband, their two Alaskan Malamutes and a stubborn cat cheer the Volunteers and Seminoles to victory from their home in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains.