TRICARE Operations Manual 132 Changes and the Autism Care Demonstration

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

The Defense Health Agency (DHA) recently published TRICARE Operations Manual (TOM) 132, which updated language about TRICARE’s Autism Care Demonstration (ACD) in TOM, Chapter 18, Section 4. Health Net Federal Services, LLC (HNFS) is sending this notification to let you know these changes were administrative in nature and put in place to align with existing policies and procedures. TOM 132 changes do not affect existing processes and procedures for referring providers, applied behavior analysis (ABA) providers, or beneficiaries, and no action is required by you or your patients.

After TOM 85 was implemented in 2021, DHA and the regional TRICARE contractors proposed policy language clarifications to ensure what’s written in the manuals accurately depicts administration of the ACD. TOM 132 is the result of that action. All noted language and text changes in TOM 132 have already been in effect since TOM 85 was implemented.

As a reminder, visit our ACD page for comprehensive details about the ACD, including printable resources and provider education articles.