Intro and Tricare questions

Re: Intro and Tricare questions

• panicked228 member

  October 2012

  If you have other insurance, Tricare will ALWAYS be the secondary. I have Tricare Prime, since I live on post and I couldn't be happier. I haven't paid a cent for healthcare since my husband joined.
  

  

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• kristifav

  October 2012

  GhostMonkey:

  You only get Tricare when he is on Active Duty orders for 30 days or more. When he deploys your best bet would be to keep your current insurance and carry TriCare as a secondary.

  https://www.tricare.mil/mybenefit/home/overview/Eligibility/WhoIsEligible?kw=National+Guard+and+Reserve+and+Families

  Right now he is IRR. If you got an ID card when you married (which I kind of doubt unless you have a PX you can utilize) it will have a reddish background and you look on the back there is a box that says "Medical" and it will state "With Active Duty Orders For Over 30 Days". When those orders are issued, you will need to go with him with a copy of those orders and get a new ID card made that will have a gold background (IIRC). I can't remember exactly what that box says at that point- they take it away after they come back if you get a current one (which you will need because it will be void shortly after his deployment is slated to be over).
  

  You can do dental benefits, but not medical.

   

  He is AGR - Active Guard Reserve.  He has been working full time at the armory stateside for over a year, in addition to his regular drills/ATs.  So while is he has active duty orders, we haven't moved or anything - it's right here at home.  Like this is his full-time job, although he is not up for any kind of deployment right now.  I have the tannish-colored ID card.  I know I am eligible for medical benefits, just weighing the pros and cons.
  

  

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• wimb01 member

  October 2012

  How far away are you from a military treatment facility? I have tricare prime remote and i love it! Its just like prime (no copays except for prescitpions from retail pharmacies) because my husband is an active duty reservist and we live too far away from an MTf. We dropped my work health insurance so tricare is primary and it saved us money. Were were able to pick our PCM from a tricare list and our PCM submits to tricare a referral anytime we need one. To see an OB they had to submit a referral so when i knew which doctor i wanted to see and knew that he was in the network, i had my doctor submit the referral specifically for him. Otherwise, tricare would have just told me where to go (im sure i could have switched it after the fact, but didnt want to deal with tricare on the phone). Tricare can be incredibly rude when dealing with them on the phone...at least in my experience. If you live too far away from an MTF, this might be a good option for you. You can find out ahead of time if your current doctors are in the network and if they are, if i were you i would cancel my insurance through work to save that money

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• kristifav

  October 2012

  Thanks for the tips ladies.  I will look into a few things!
  

  

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• mamainseptember member

  October 2012

  DH is National Guard as well and we have Tricare Reserve Select. We pay $192 a month for him, me and our DS. I absolutely love it. I have yet to pay a co pay, ER bill, NOTHING. We are TTC so I will see how it goes while I'm PG, but so far its been fantastic, I'd HIGHLY recommend it. 

  

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• MrsArrants member

  October 2012

  kristifav:

  Hello everyone!  My husband and I have been together for about 5 years, married 4 months, and I am 9 weeks pregnant.  He is AGR in the National Guard.

  This past summer before we got married I looked into Tricare as an alternative to my own work insurance, but he couldn't really give me any info and what I did manage to find online didn't seem great.  I am happy with my current insurance and coverage, but I think Tricare would be cheaper overall.  So I have a few questions.  For those of you that have it, what are the pros/cons?  Is it possible to have it and another insurance at the same time?  Is it a good option to keep in mind for the baby?

  TIA!
  

   

  My husband is currently deployed so it's different from your situation, but I kept my work insurance in addition to TriCare Standard that I have through him. I pay no premiums because he is deployed, and whatever my Anthem insurance doesn't cover, TriCare picks up the balance. I pay no copays or anything. The best part is that TriCare does not have a maximum on ultrasounds as long as they are used to determine size/health/gender of baby. I've had 8 so far in my 18 weeks and it's all paid for.

  Once DH comes home, we are going to enroll in TriCare as a family in addition to our work insurances just because of the added coverage. Best part is that because I'm not on Prime, I can go to any doctor of my choice that accepts it. 

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