Q. My daughter's father, whom I never married, is taking me to court. He's being medically discharged from the Army due to a brain tumor, and he is claiming that he needs joint physical custody of our daughter in order to provide her Tricare coverage for the rest of her life. Is that true?
A. Joint physical custody is not a requirement for Tricare coverage for a dependent child. All that is required is for the military sponsor — the father — to ensure that the child is properly registered in the Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System, the Defense Department's eligibility portal for military benefits, including Tricare.
However, your daughter will not remain eligible for Tricare for the rest of her life; the normal age cutoff for dependent children is 21 and may be extended to 23 if the child is a full-time college student. After that, the only remaining option is a relatively new program called Tricare Young Adult, which requires enrollment and payment of monthly premiums. Coverage under that program may last until the child reaches age 26.
Dependent children younger than 10 normally do not need their own military ID cards; however, in scenarios like yours, children younger than 10 may receive an ID card that the custodial parent may use to verify that the child is eligible for Tricare when going on medical appointments.
More information on Tricare coverage for children is at here.
You can also get information from the main DEERS support office at 800-538-9552.
Q. My mother, a surviving spouse with "20/20/20" benefits, is now covered under Tricare for Life. If she gets Medicare Part D drug coverage through my late father's workplace insurance, will it affect her TFL prescription benefits?
A. Yes, it definitely would.
For most Tricare beneficiaries, there is almost zero advantage to enrolling in Medicare Part D. The only Tricare beneficiaries likely to see any financial advantage from Part D are those whose incomes are below the federal poverty level and who qualify for financial aid to help pay the premiums for their Medicare Part B outpatient coverage.
If your mom is not in that group and signs up for Part D, Tricare would pay second after Medicare on her prescription drug claims — but not automatically; she would have to file separate claims with Tricare to be reimbursed for the Part D plan's drug co-payments and deductibles.
More importantly, TFL beneficiaries who enroll in Part D are locked out of the Tricare Mail-Order Pharmacy program, which offers the lowest co-pays and greatest convenience of any Tricare prescription drug option.
Email your Tricare questions to tricarehelp@militarytimes.com.
