Pregnant and engaged; how soon can I get benefits?
February 13th, 2012 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
I am the girlfriend of a soldier, and I am 10 weeks pregnant. We have every intention on getting married, but I want to know if there is a time limit in which we need to wed in order for our unborn child, and me, to receive military benefits.
You will become eligible for Tricare, including maternity care, on the day you are legally married to the baby’s father. You cannot use Tricare, however, until you are legally married and your husband has contacted his Personnel Section to register you for the program. That takes only a few days.
If the baby is born before you are married, the child’s Tricare coverage will begin on the day he is born. There are some administrative requirements to be met before that, but you can get detailed official information about the Tricare eligibility of a child born out of wedlock by calling the DEERS Support Office, toll-free, at 1-800-538-9552. Be prepared to take notes.
Can girlfriend and baby be covered by Tricare?
January 13th, 2012 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
My girlfriend and I recently had a baby. We are not married, but she is my beneficiary. Can I put her on Tricare Reserve Select with my daughter?
The requirements for Tricare eligibility are established by federal law and regulation. Because you are not legally married to the mother, she cannot become eligible for Tricare. That means her maternity care cannot be covered by Tricare.
The child’s situation is a different matter entirely. As your biological child, your baby daughter can be covered retroactively to the moment of birth.
To provide Tricare coverage for your daughter, there are certain actions you must take. To learn exactly what you must do, and for guidance in doing them, please call the DEERS Support Office, toll-free, at 1-800-538-9552. Be prepared to take notes of what you must do and how to do it. DEERS and your Personnel Office will walk you through the entire process.
Can girlfriend give birth in military hospital?
December 2nd, 2011 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
I’m an active-duty soldier and my girlfriend and I are getting ready to have a baby. She doesn’t have health care at the moment. I know the baby can be covered as my dependent, but my question is, can she have the baby in a military hospital?
Whether your girlfriend can give birth at a military hospital does not fall under Tricare’s authority. Only your military hospital can decide. Contact the hospital’s Patient Administration Office for an official answer.
Of course, the problem is instantly resolved if you get married. She would be covered under Tricare.
The baby will be covered after birth either way, however. Call the DEERS Support Office, toll free, at 1-800-538-9552, to discuss that matter.
Can boyfriend get baby covered after the birth?
November 25th, 2011 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
My boyfriend is in the Army and has health coverage with the military, and I am covered under my parents’ insurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield. I am pregnant, and my insurance will cover the labor and delivery of the baby. After the baby is born, will the child fall under my boyfriend’s insurance even though we aren’t married? We’ve talked to my boyfriend’s sergeants and they have no idea.
The child of an active duty, retired, or deceased uniformed service member is eligible for Tricare by law even if the parents are not married. Certain administrative tasks must be completed, however, before the child can use Tricare.
The father should contact his Personnel Section for help to do the things needed to establish his child’s Tricare eligibility. You should become informed also. To do that, please all the DEERS Support Office, toll-free, at 1-800-538-9552. DEERS is a federal agency under the Defense Department. All communications are confidential.
Will my baby born out of wedlock be eligible?
June 20th, 2011 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
Q. I am on active duty and am about to have a child born out of wedlock. The mother is a Japanese national. We will not get married, but I want the child to have Tricare. Will the child be eligible? If so, will the child still be eligible when I go to my next duty station?
A. By federal law, your child will be eligible for Tricare until age 26 or until your child gets married, whichever comes first. But that eligibility is contingent on you remaining on active duty or in military retired status and eligible to receive retired pay.
However, proper administrative actions must be taken. For the child to be eligible for Tricare, paternity must be judicially determined (by court action). Your unit personnel office should be able to provide all the help you need, but you should pursue the matter actively so it doesn’t fall through the cracks.
Your duty station will have no effect on the child’s Tricare eligibility.
You are responsible for ensuring that mother and child have adequate information and assistance in using Tricare and in maintaining active registration for the child in the Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System, or DEERS, as well as ensuring that the child has a military ID card.
Establishing paternity for Tricare eligibility
May 12th, 2011 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
If an unmarried, active-duty father acknowledges paternity of a child, is the child eligible for Tricare without a paternity test? A paternity test can be difficult when the service member is deployed. Also, is the father’s name on the birth certificate enough to establish paternity?
All of Tricare’s operations — all of its rules and procedures — are governed by federal law and regulation. In the case of a birth outside of wedlock, I believe the law specifies that paternity must be established by judicial determination. That is, a court must issue a statement certifying that the presumed father is, indeed, the child’s biological parent. Merely naming the “father” on the birth certificate is not enough.
As I am not an attorney, and your question has legal implications, I am not qualified to provide the sort of information you are seeking. I suggest that you call the DEERS Support Office, toll-free, at 1-800-538-9552 for official information regarding the matter.
Girlfriend is pregnant; will Tricare cover prenatal care?
May 3rd, 2011 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
My girlfriend is pregnant. How do I get the baby covered by Tricare until it is born?
Your girlfriend cannot be eligible for Tricare unless she is married to you. Similarly, the baby cannot be eligible for Tricare until it is born. For official confirmation of these facts, please call DEERS, toll-free, at 1-800-538-9552.
If you and your girlfriend marry, she will become eligible for Tricare immediately. All her maternity care will be covered, starting on the day you are married. If you do not marry, however, the baby will still be covered by Tricare from the moment of birth.
Does baby need father’s last name to get Tricare?
April 7th, 2011 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
Q. I am pregnant. The baby’s father is in the military, but we are not together and we won’t be. Does the baby have to have his last name in order to get Tricare coverage?
The child of an active-duty, retired, or deceased member of the uniformed services is automatically legally eligible for Tricare. That is true regardless of whether the parents are legally married.
If you are legally married to the father, when the child is born, the father is responsible — in fact, required — to contact his Personnel Section to properly register the child in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) and to complete all administrative actions required for the child to use his or her Tricare benefits.
If you are married to the father, you, also, are eligible for Tricare, provided you are properly enrolled in DEERS by your husband. He is required to enroll his family for all military benefits including Tricare.
If you are not legally married to the father when the child is born, it is the father’s responsibility to contact the Judge Advocate General (JAG) at his military facility to seek legal assistance for making the child eligible for Tricare. The JAG will provide the necessary guidance and help for him to do that.
Please note that the child, even if the parents are not married, is legally entitled to Tricare provided paternity can be established by court order. The father must take the actions needed to enroll him/her in DEERS.
For more information about this matter, please call the DEERS Support Office, toll-free, at 1-800-538-9552.
Can I get Tricare for unborn baby when the father isn’t helping?
March 3rd, 2011 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
Q. The father of my unborn child was in the Army, but is now considered, from what he tells me, a disabled veteran. I was wondering if there is anything I can do to get benefits for my child, since the father does not want anything to do with the baby and is not helping me. Where do I begin?
I am not an attorney, and your problem may require one. If you cannot afford an attorney, I suggest that you contact your local Legal Aid Society or lawyer referral service. There, you may be able to get legal assistance at a reduced rate, or perhaps free.
As I understand the law regarding the matter, the illegitimate child of an active-duty, retired, or deceased member of one of the uniformed services may be determined to be eligible for Tricare if paternity is established by the order of a court. Additionally, the presumed father of the child must be shown to meet the legal requirements to be the sponsor of a Tricare beneficiary. There may be other legal requirements as well.
Again, I am not an attorney. Although I can tell you what a law says, I am not qualified to tell you what a law means or the way it applies to a given situation or person. For that information and help, consult an attorney.
How can I make sure my son’s child – born out of wedlock – is covered?
October 30th, 2009 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
Q. My son is currently deployed to Afghanistan. He will become a father in March or April. He is not married to the mother, but there is no question of paternity. I have his power of attorney, and I am trying to set up whatever is needed to secure benefits for his son when he is born. What needs to be done? Whom do I contact?
Those who wrote the law and regulation governing Tricare eligibility, fortunately, had the foresight to consider situations like your son’s. A uniformed service member’s child born out of wedlock may be declared eligible for Tricare if paternity is judicially determined. The child’s eligibility presumably begins at the moment of birth. But to the best of my knowledge, that does not confer any Tricare eligibility on the mother, not even for her maternity care.
Tricare Help has no official affiliation with the Defense Department, however. For official answers about eligibility, you must contact the the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) at 1-800-538-9552. DEERS is a federal agency under auspices of the Defense Department. All matters discussed with DEERS are protected by the federal Privacy Act of 1974. It maintains a computerized database of all Defense Department beneficiaries and the military benefits to which each is entitled by law.
Tricare itself does not have the authority to make individual eligibility determinations. Only the uniformed services have the authority to determine whether a given individual meets the legal criteria for Tricare eligibility, to register an eligible person in DEERS, and to issue a uniformed service identification card. DEERS will help you resolve the matter of the child’s Tricare eligibility. They can tell you what to do and whom to contact.