Is a dependent ID card needed to use Tricare Young Adult?
November 18th, 2011 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
My daughter recently signed up for the Tricare Young Adult program. She is 22. Is she required to get a dependent ID card?
The uniformed service identification card serves as proof of Tricare coverage. On the back of the card are statements regarding eligibility for civilian medical care at government expense. The word “Yes” in the appropriate space is proof of Tricare eligibility at the time the card was issued.
For an official answer to your question, please call the DEERS Support Office, toll-free, at 1-800-538-9552.
Do I really have to buy the Young Adult Plan for my daughter?
October 6th, 2011 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
Under Obama’s health care reform, children can be covered under their parents’ policy as long as the child is single and younger than 26. I have a daughter who just graduated from college. She is 22 and is in the process of looking for a job. I have the family plan with Tricare that costs between $450 to $500 per year. Can my daughter still be covered under this family plan? I spoke with one office and was told that I would have to buy young adult insurance for a fee double what the family plan is now costing me. Which is correct?
Because your daughter has reached her 21st birthday but is no longer enrolled as a full-time student, her only option for Tricare eligibility is under the Young Adult Plan.
If she were to enroll again as a full-time student, her Tricare eligibility could be restored for as long as she was enrolled, but only until she turned 23. Then, as now, she could be eligible only under the Young Adult Plan until reaching age 26.
To officially confirm which Tricare plan your daughter is eligible for, please call the DEERS Support Office, toll-free, at 1-800-538-9552.
Why am I no longer covered by father’s Tricare?
August 5th, 2011 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
Q. My father is retired from the military, and I had coverage up until my last doctor’s appointment, when they took my ID card away because it was expired. My father went to try to get me another one, and they told him since I am not a student, I am not eligible for Tricare. I am pregnant now. Am I still not eligible for Tricare?
There is a new Tricare program available for certain unmarried children of active duty, retired, or deceased uniformed service personnel who do not meet the age or student status requirements of the older programs.
It is called the Tricare Young Adult Program. You can find complete, official information about the program here. Unlike the older programs, it is more restrictive of eligibility, and it is more expensive.
For official answers to all questions about Tricare eligibility, please call the DEERS Support Office, toll-free, at 1-800-538-9552. DEERS is a federal agency. It deals with Tricare eligibility issues only. It cannot provide information about Tricare plans, benefits, payments, or claims.
Why can’t I just be on family’s plan instead of Tricare Young Adult?
July 7th, 2011 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
Q. I don’t understand the Tricare program(s) I am eligible for. I am a 24-year-old unemployed college student, and my father is on active duty. The rest of my family has Tricare Prime. As I read the health care reform law, I should be legally qualified to be added onto the Prime plan. But when I called Tricare, they told me I am eligible for the Tricare Young Adult Plan. This is not my parents’ plan. Why is Tricare not following the law?
The Young Adult program is the Defense Department’s implementation of the new law regarding the extension of dependent children’s eligibility for their parent’s insurance coverage beyond the previous, virtually universal, cut-off age of 19 or 21 in the health insurance industry generally.
The information you received is what the law provides for your extended eligibility, even if it is not exactly, and in all respects, the same plan your parents have.
Tricare is not a health insurance policy or an insurance company. The program now known as Tricare is a federal health benefits program created in 1966 by federal law. It is similar in that respect to Medicare. It is not subject to the laws that govern the insurance industry in any state.
All of Tricare’s operations including eligibility requirements are governed by the federal law enacted by Congress in 1966 that created the program now known as Tricare and the subsequent federal regulation that interprets and implements that law. Federal regulations have the force and effect of law.
Laws seldom spell out in detail exactly what is to be done, when, and by whom. Each agency affected must draft regulations to interpret a law as it applies to that agency’s operations (which are determined by the agency’s enabling legislation; that is, the law that created the agency).
You cannot simply be added to your parents’ Tricare plan because the Defense Department’s interpretation and implementation of the law do not allow it. Because of your age, you are in a different category of beneficiary.
News Update: Tricare Young Adult Program
April 27th, 2011 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
Tricare has announced the premiums.
Can I keep Tricare until age 26 if I get married?
March 7th, 2011 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
Q. I am 20 years old and a Tricare dependent. I am looking at getting engaged and was wondering what would happen to my dependency. My understanding is that, currently, I will lose my coverage when I turn 21 or when I become married. But I have heard that the new health care extends that to age 26 even if a dependent is married. Is that true?
No; Congress recently passed a law that allows the Defense Department to extend the eligibility of unmarried children until age 26 under certain circumstances. The coverage will require payment of a monthly premium. That amount is yet to be determined.
You can find official information about Tricare’s Young Adult Program here.