Military Wife Does Homebirth and Tricare covers it!

LukesMama44

Here's what I've learned from working with Tricare military insurance for my homebirth.  First off, our entire homebirth was covered via Tricare Prime.  Even if you don't have Tricare Prime it is VERY simple to make the switch if your spouse is Active Duty which is all I have experience with.  This is what worked for us, your state/situation may be different but if your willing to put in effort (and at times it's a lot of effort but totally worth it) then you should be successful in having your homebirth be covered by Tricare Insurance.  Hopefully the more Tricare "sees" homebirths, the easier it will be to file a claim and why wouldn't they want to make it easier? It's a lot cheaper than a hospital birth!

Below are the very important steps to take regarding filing your claim with Tricare.

1. Your midwife/provider must be an authorized provider with in Tricare's network.  If they are not an authorized provider, they will need to apply to become one https://www.humana-military.com/south/provider/provider.asp then click the quick links "join the network".  I was lucky enough to find a midwife who was already in Tricare's system and we did not have to go through this process. But if you start early enough in your research and if your provider is willing to apply then do it ASAP, because it will most likely take several months before an approval is made.

*Note* Once your provider is in Tricare's network, you both should receive a copy of the "Notification of Tricare Provider Authorization" letter with the Provider ID #.

2.  Once your precious little one is born, have your midwife/provider complete a Form 1500, Health Insurance Claim Form, which is standard for all insurance companies. You will be using this form to verify the services conducted by your midwife/provider and will need to forward the document on to Tricare.

3. You will also need to fill out another form, DD 2642, for you and baby https://www.humana-military.com/library/pdf/claim-form-dd2642.pdf.  You must fill out two separate forms, one for you and one for your baby.

*Note* Under "condition" for which the patients received treatment put "pregnancy" for Mother and "birth" for child.

3. You will need a list of itemized charges for each procedure billed with dates.  Tricare wants a "statement or bill that includes the charge and description of each service received". Include one for patient and one for the baby, you can line through Mother's billed procedure and leave the procedures applicable for baby (ex: Newborn Examination, Vitamin K injection etc). Our midwife simply put this on a letter head and we sent it in like that.  If you need an example, I can provide you with one-just ask!

All forms should be faxed AND mailed as some depts in Tricare lose paperwork from time to time (it happened to us twice).

For Tricare South Region: Fax with cover page stating provider ID # on cover to: 803-462-3993

Mail all paperwork (AFTER making your own copies) to: Tricare (whatever region you are, ex: South Region) 2300 Springdale Dr. Bldg 2 Camden, SC 29020. 

*Address and fax number may be different depending on your region

4. Make sure to follow up!

Bexx24

Wow wish I had known a couple months ago! I figured it was a total no-go. :-/

ArmyQM

Although we're done having kids I'm very grateful that you provided this info. It will be immensely beneficial to people going forward. Was your midwife a CNM or CPM?

KNSATX

THANK YOU! My husband is gearing up for a fight at my first appt because the triage nurse at BAMC (Ft Sam) told us that they won't give referrals to midwives even though tricare authorizes it, because BAMC has everything I could possibly need.

augry_pookie

Thank you so much for this information! We, however are stationed in Spain :-( any suggestions on who I could talk to about home births over here. When I went to the tricare office they just seemed confused by my request... Sincere thanks, Erin

jmomof8

This is great info, thanks!  I've had four homebirths covered by Tricare standard.  But my midwife was from a large homebirth practice and did all the billing, etc.  We're moving to a new location so I'm trying to learn all I can about how Tricare covers homebirth in case I get pregnant again.  Do you know if Tricare only covers CNMs or will it also cover CPMs?

ShalomLani

This is fantastic for future! I'm going to look into whether or not Tricare Reserve Select takes home births. Also, I'll be passing this on to my midwife. I know she has patients besides myself who are military-affiliated. I'm too far along with this baby, but once my husband goes back on AD with medical school in a few short years, we'll definitely be needing this info!

kfo22

jmomof8 said:

This is great info, thanks!  I've had four homebirths covered by Tricare standard.  But my midwife was from a large homebirth practice and did all the billing, etc.  We're moving to a new location so I'm trying to learn all I can about how Tricare covers homebirth in case I get pregnant again.  Do you know if Tricare only covers CNMs or will it also cover CPMs?

Only CNMs.. I know in Colorado, CNMs are only allowed to work in a birthing center, but I'm not familiar with any other state laws.

JKLowman

I know this thread is almost a year old, but she absolutely correct when she says "your state may be different."

For those stationed in Alabama, home births are illegal and punishable by law. Just throwing it out there so you don't do all the work for nothing.