For secondary insurance: Prime or Standard?
August 25th, 2010 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
Q. I have Blue Cross and I also am eligible for Tricare. Is there any benefit to me getting Tricare Prime versus Tricare Standard as my secondary insurance?
No, to the contrary. Tricare Prime functions as a Health Maintenance Organization. HMOs have restrictive rules that require you to use only their physicians and facilities, and to use them first.
Having an HMO (such as Tricare Prime) as second payer to your other health insurance (OHI) can make coordination of benefits more difficult and increases the chance of errors and misunderstandings.
I believe you will be better off using Tricare Standard, which is free, as second payer to your OHI.
Here’s how to do it:
1. Complete an official Tricare Claim Form DD2642.
2. Attach a copy of exactly the same itemized bills as were sent to your OHI.
3. Attach a copy of the OHI’s EOB that reports details of its processing of those same charges.
4. Send the packet to the Tricare claims processor for your residential area.
The official Tricare website has a section dedicated to claims filing, where you will find claim forms to download, filing instructions, points of contact, and claims filing addresses.
Tags: other health insurance, secondary insurance, Tricare Prime, Tricare Standard
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