What Is TRICARE?
TRICARE is a health program offered Specifically to uniformed military service members veterans and their families from all around the world. TRICARE provides comprehensive coverage to all of their beneficiaries. This includes:
- Health plans
- special programs
- prescriptions
- dental plans
Eligibility:
Specifically, TRICARE is a health program for:
- uniformed service members and their families,
- national guard/reserve members and their families,
- survivors,
- former spouses,
- Medal of Honor recipients and their families,
- and others registered in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, or (DEERS).
The Defense Health Agency manages TRICARE under the leadership of the Assistant Secretary of Defense. They endeavor to be a world-class healthcare system, and support the military mission by fostering, protecting, sustaining, and restoring health. The good news is, tri-care is available all over the world. It’s managed in three separate regions: The west of the United States, the east of the United States, and overseas.
The Western region covers:
- Alaska,
- Arizona,
- California,
- Colorado,
- Hawaii,
- Idaho,
- Iowa,
- Kansas,
- Minnesota,
- Missouri,
- Montana,
- Nebraska,
- Nevada,
- New Mexico,
- North Dakota,
- Oregon,
- South Dakota,
- Texas,
- Utah,
- Washington,
- and Wyoming.
If you want to reach them, you can call health Net at:
- 1-844-866-9378,
- or go to www.tricare-west.com.
The Eastern region covers the north and south east, and it includes:
- Alabama,
- Arkansas,
- Connecticut,
- Delaware,
- the district of Columbia,
- Florida,
- Georgia,
- Illinois,
- Indiana,
- Iowa,
- Kentucky,
- Louisiana,
- Maine,
- Maryland,
- Massachusetts,
- Michigan,
- Mississippi,
- Missouri,
- New Hampshire,
- New Jersey,
- New York,
- North Carolina,
- Ohio,
- Oklahoma,
- Pennsylvania,
- Rhode Island,
- South Carolina,
- Tennessee,
- Texas,
- Vermont,
- Virginia,
- West Virginia,
- and Wisconsin.
They are managed through Humana military, and if you want to reach them, you can call
- 1-800-444-5445,
- or go to www.tricare-east.com.
If you have other health insurance to use besides TRICARE, it’s known as just that: other health insurance. This may be insurance bought through your employer, or another private insurance program. According to the law, TRICARE pays for all health insurance that is not covered by this insurance first, with the exception of:
- Medicaid
- TRICARE supplements
- State Victims of Crime Compensation programs
- Or other federal government programs identified by the director of the defense health agency.
In essence, for any of your health care needs, your other health insurance will process your claim first. Any remaining claim amounts will be filed by your doctor with TRICARE. If you’re on active duty you cannot use any other health insurance besides TRICARE. And if you have Medicare, since Medicare is a federal entitlement, TRICARE pays last after Medicare and any other health insurance. you can visit the Medicare website, Medicare.GOV, to see which plan – Medicare or your other health insurance – will pay first.
It’s important to tell your TRICARE contractors and doctors about any other health insurance you have. If TRICARE gets your claim before your other health insurance processes it, TRICARE will deny it. If TRICARE ends up paying first, and then discovers that you had other health insurance, they will take back any payments that were made. TRICARE will only process your claim after your health insurance does. So it’s very important that you let TRICARE know all the details about other plans that you have.
There are so many details and difficulties to enrolling, navigating the system, and keeping up with what plan will be right for you. Opportunities to save money may go amiss, and certain coverage needs may be overlooked. Don’t go it alone. Get a quote and talk to an insurance specialist today.