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.
Tricare after a divorce: Even lawyers should start with DEERS
February 1st, 2012 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
I have a friend who is going through a divorce. He is retired from the Air Force, and in the divorce papers, his estranged wife is requiring that he keep her and her child (who is not his biological child) on Tricare for an additional year. Can she sue him if Tricare drops her?
As a lawyer friend of mine says, “Anybody can sue somebody for anything. Finding a lawyer willing to take the case, and/or winning the case, are entirely different matters.”
The legal requirements for Tricare eligibility are established by federal law. I cannot give legal advice, but I can suggest the best place to start an inquiry about the legal requirements for Tricare eligibility is by calling the DEERS Support Office, toll-free, at 1-800-538-9552.
DEERS cannot give legal advice, but it can advise inquirers about the provisions of federal law concerning Tricare eligibility. Even lawyers should begin any inquiries about Tricare eligibility at that office.
How do we know if we’re eligible?
January 30th, 2012 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
My husband is a disabled Army vet and he cannot seem to tell me what Tricare is or if he can get it. I understand it is some kind of insurance. Could we be eligible for it?
There are two programs for which you might be eligible.
You wrote that your husband is a disabled vet. Depending on his disability rating from the Veterans Affairs Department, you may be eligible for care through the VA. If his rating is “100 percent, permanent and total,” he may qualify for free VA medical care for the rest of his life, and his wife and unmarried children under age 18 would be entitled to the program called CHAMPVA.
Alternatively, if your husband is entitled to receive retired pay, he and his family may be entitled to Tricare.
For official information regarding your husband’s Tricare eligibility, he should call the DEERS Support Office, toll-free, at 1-800-538-9552. He must call, himself. Due to provisions of the Privacy Act, that information cannot be given to another person.
Another source of public information regarding Tricare eligibility is at the official Tricare website.
I changed my name; how do I tell Tricare?
January 23rd, 2012 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
I got married a few months ago and I switched my last name to my wife’s. How can I switch my last name in Tricare? I am enrolling my wife in DEERS next month.
You need to call the DEERS Support Office at 1-800-538-9552.
Personnel at that office will tell you all you need to know, exactly what you need to do, and the way to do it. They will walk you through every step and answer all your questions regarding Tricare eligibility. Be prepared to take notes. DEERS deals with eligibility only and cannot answer any questions about the Tricare program, its benefits, its claims, or its payments. You must contact your Regional Tricare Service Office for official information about any of those things.
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 fiancee keep seeing same doctors when we get married?
January 11th, 2012 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
I am an active-duty sailor and I am getting married in February. My fiancee has bipolar disorder. She is concerned about being able to keep her same doctors and counselor/therapist when we are married and what hoops we may have to jump through with Tricare to make it work. How can I help her ensure she keeps her current doctors?
Tricare is a federal program, but it has a rule in common with most commercial health insurance companies and policies: In order for Tricare to help pay for medical services, the provider of care must be registered with Tricare and be authorized to be paid by Tricare for covered services rendered to Tricare beneficiaries.
Your bride will become legally entitled to Tricare the moment she is married to you., For her to use Tricare, however, you must register her in DEERS and apply for her military ID card. Your Personnel Section will help you do that.
Tricare has no limits or restrictions on its coverage of pre-existing conditions. Mental health care, including pharmacy services, is a Tricare benefit, subject to existing rules regarding the medical necessity and appropriateness of care for the particular patient’s diagnosis, symptoms, and medical history.
Seamless continuity with your wife’s same providers may be a problem for two reasons:
One is the perennial element of military service in that you are subject to periodic transfer to a new location, perhaps across the world. You have little or no control over that element of military service.
The other is whether your wife’s providers are, or are willing to become, Tricare-authorized providers, as I discussed above. A section of the official website was designed especially to inform providers of care about Tricare and its rules regarding providers. Your wife should make her doctors aware of the web site and its provider section, but the decision of whether to become Tricare authorized providers is voluntary and entirely in their hands.
What if estranged husband tries to stop us from getting ID cards?
November 30th, 2011 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
My estranged husband of 26 years is retired Army and has been extremely hostile since I left our abusive relationship. In the two and a half years we have been separated, he has disobeyed every court order issued for child support and disclosure of income and assets. Now my daughter and I need new military ID cards, which we need to prove our coverage under Tricare — our only health insurance. Although I have been told that a hostile spouse cannot terminate Tricare while we are married, he will undoubtedly refuse to process the paperwork necessary for the new ID cards. How can I get the new ID cards without his cooperation?
Once you divorce your husband, your and your daughter’s Tricare eligibility will be separate issues.
Your daughter is automatically eligible for Tricare because her father is a retired uniformed service member. To use Tricare, she must be registered in DEERS and be issued her ID card. Only the uniformed services or the Defense Department can do either of those things for her. Her father’s permission, approval, or assistance, however, are not required.
You may need official help to register her in DEERS and to get her ID card if her father will not cooperate. All you need to do is call the DEERS Support Office, toll-free, at 1-800-538-9552. DEERS deals with eligibility issues only.
Your letter implies that you will still be eligible for Tricare after your divorce because of the 26-year duration of your marriage. DEERS can help you with that, too. If you meet the requirements as a former spouse, you are legally eligible for Tricare, and DEERS will help you get registered and get a proper ID card.
Your former husband does not have the power or the authority to prevent you from using Tricare. He cannot control your access to care and has no rights to know whether you file Tricare claims or anything about your medical care. That is all confidential.
However, the court may grant your former husband the right to information about his daughter’s claims and medical care. That is something to discuss with your attorney if you have one.
Just found out Dad isn’t signed up for Part B; what now?
October 21st, 2011 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
My father, an Army retiree, turned 65 in April and has not yet enrolled in Medicare Part B. Are there any penalties for late enrollment? He was recently hospitalized, and I need to know the quickest, and easiest way to help him do this right away so as his insurance doesn’t deny all the bills that he recently had.
If a Tricare-eligible retiree or retiree family member becomes legally entitled to free Medicare Part A, federal law requires that he must be enrolled also in Medicare Part B at that same time. Failure to be enrolled also in Part B results in the immediate loss of Tricare eligibility until the beneficiary has Medicare Part B in force.
Your father should immediately contact the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 for guidance to enroll in Medicare Part B.
The legal provision to which I refer is part of the law that governs Tricare eligibility. It does not apply to active duty family members or to civilians.
Without delay, your father also needs to contact the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, better known as DEERS, at 1-800-538-9552 for an official determination of his Tricare eligibility.
If your father is not enrolled in Part B, it is most likely that his Tricare eligibility was automatically terminated on the first day of the month when he turned 65.
It is unlikely that he can get retroactive coverage for care he received while he was ineligible, but DEERS can give you an official answer.
Can sister be covered under my husband’s Tricare?
September 23rd, 2011 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
I have a sister who is going to be moving in with me. She is on Social Security disability and Medicare. My husband is retired Navy. Can he add her to his Tricare as a dependant?
Tricare eligibility is established by federal law for certain categories of people. Brothers, sisters, parents or other family members do not meet the legal requirements for Tricare eligibility.
If you live near a uniformed service facility with a hospital or clinic, it is possible that your husband can arrange for your sister to get some, or even all, of her medical care and pharmacy services there. He should contact the Patient Administration Office or the Executive Officer at the facility for more information about that.
For your sister to have access to any military benefits, there are some administrative actions your husband would have to take to establish her as his legal dependent. His Personnel Office can help make those arrangements, including her registration in DEERS.
For confirmation of my reply, above, and for official answers to any and all questions about Tricare eligibility, please call the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System Support Office at 1-800-538-9552. DEERS deals with eligibility issues only.
Can Marine’s parents, brother buy Tricare coverage?
September 2nd, 2011 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
My son is taking a medical retirement from the Marines. I am his father and will be unemployed and uninsured soon due to a company closing. Is it possible for me, his mother and brother to buy coverage through him with Tricare?
Although it functions in many of the same ways, Tricare is not a health insurance policy or an insurance company. It is a federal health benefits program created by law with the sole purpose of paying part of the costs of civilian medical care for the spouse and eligible children of active-duty service personnel, retired personnel and their eligible family members, surviving family members of deceased active duty and retired personnel, and a few others.
The parents, siblings, or other family members apart from the service member’s spouse and children are not eligible for Tricare. They cannot purchase eligibility or coverage by the program.
You can get official confirmation of the above, and a complete description and explanation of Tricare eligibility, by calling the DEERS Support Office, toll-free, at 1-800-538-9552.