PHOENIX, April 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Providing military families and medical providers with "An Outstanding Customer Service Experience" has earned TriWest Healthcare Alliance its fifth-consecutive J.D. Power and Associates certification.

TriWest—the Department of Defense (DoD) contractor that administers TRICARE, the military's health care entitlement, in 21 western states—handles about 20,000 phone calls daily across its six contact centers.

"Taking care of military families has been our sole mission for 16 years," said TriWest President and CEO David J. McIntyre, Jr. "We work tirelessly and with the highest levels of respect to meet the health care needs of West Region military families, who have very much become our family."

A third party conducted surveys of about 1,000 TriWest customers over two weeks and measured:

• Contact center representatives' concern for the customer
• Courtesy and knowledge
• Convenience of operating hours
• Ease of reaching a representative
• Timely call resolution

TriWest scored high in all categories, resulting in the certification. In addition to meeting J.D. Power and Associates certification guidelines, TriWest continually exceeds challenging contact center time and effectiveness standards set by the DoD.

"We owe it to those who put their lives on the line to protect our country to make sure their health care is the best it can be and is provided seamlessly to service members and their families," McIntyre said. "It's the main reason we feel so passionately about protesting the DoD's decision to award the next generation of TRICARE contracts to an organization with a questionable performance track record and no experience serving military families."

TriWest's six contact centers are located in: Anchorage, Alaska; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Honolulu; Phoenix; San Diego; and Tacoma, Wash. The company's claims subcontractor—Wisconsin Physicians Service—is in Wausau, Wis., and handles claims inquiries.

Learn more about TriWest at TriWest.com. To learn more about TriWest's response to the DoD's TRICARE decision, visit TriWest.com/BidProtest.

About TriWest
TriWest Healthcare Alliance has been On a Mission to Serve® America's military families since 1996. We connect our 2.9 million military members, retirees and families across 21 western states to more than 175,000 high-quality health care providers. It's our honor to deliver award-winning customer service through a team of 1,700 people, half of whom have military connections. Life in the military has its challenges—accessing health care shouldn't be one of them. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and our blog.

About J.D. Power and Associates
Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO 9001-registered global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, training and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

SOURCE TriWest