I'll be watching my mail for a scalpel and a medical textbook

The weather has been very un-Virginia like for July today. It was only in the low 80s and there was very little to no humidity.
 
Woo-hoo!! That meant the girls actually played outside for quite a while without constantly complaining about how hot it was and running in every 3.5 minutes to cool off.
 
As we sat down to dinner I noticed a small bite on McKinley's leg, but just thought it was a mosquito bite.
 
As I was getting them ready for their bath, I took a closer look at it because she complained of it hurting.
 
Hmmm... that doesn't look so good. It looks a lot like a target which is often an indication of a spider bite.
 
Oh, and of course it is after 7 pm which means the clinic at Quantico is closed. They have no emergency room.
 
I suppressed my immediate urge to put her clothes back on and take her to the Mary Washington Hospital emergency room and decided instead to call the Tricare Nurse Advice Line.
 
So, while husband was entertaining them in the bath, I sit through the litany of "press or say 1 for..."  "press or say 2 for..."
 
Ah, finally a human. A very pleasant one, I might add.
 
After verifying all of my information and getting a quick medical history on my little bug, she tells me to just keep an eye on it for the next few hours and instructs me on what to look for that would require medical attention and then tells me to make a paste of baking soda and put on it to help neutralize any venom in the event that it is a spider bite.
 
Well, my mind is more at ease now. Thank goodness, I really didn't want to go to the ER on a Friday night.
 
Then, she says "Oh, I see that you are in Sierra, Region 1. Did you get the letter informing you after August the nurse advice line will no longer be available to you/"
 
"Um, no."
 
"You should be receiving it in a few weeks. The government opted not to renew the contract. Instead you will be given a website to look up items that you think may require medical attention."
 
"You have got to be kidding me!"
 
She chuckled and said "No, I'm not. But that is the same response I have received from many moms. In the letter there will also be a website where you can leave feedback about the change."
 
"I'm sorry. I am speechless."
 
"Don't worry. You are not the first. We are all civilians here, so we were pretty surprised when they told us. We were under the impression the military had some of the most thorough insurance coverage."
 
I just had to chuckle myself. I told her I couldn't really complain too much, but that over the past year or so it certainly seemed that Tricare was putting more and more of the responsibility on us from forms and medical records to scheduling out own appointments online (which I like).
 
I am guessing in five years or so, I am going to go to my mailbox and find a package with a scalpel, a medical textbook and a letter advising me that for anything other than major surgery, I am on my own.