TRICARE – the biggest mystery in the military, or so it seems. We’ve decided to breakdown military family insurance options in a series of posts to hopefully pull back the curtain a little bit and empower your military family to enroll in an insurance plan you feel confident will serve you the best!
What is TRICARE?
TRICARE is the health insurance program offered by the United States Department of Defense’s Military Health System. In a nutshell it is what the US government offers uniformed service members, retirees and their families. This program offers a variety of coverage plans depending on your status (active duty, veteran, dependent, etc.) and where you are located geographically.
How many plans are there?
A lot, which is great news right?! It’s nice to feel like we have choices! There are 11 plans available, again all depending on what your role is and where you are located. Instead of overwhelming you by breaking down each of these plans in this post, stay tuned for upcoming posts on each, individual plan. In the meantime, you can use this awesome Plan Finder to narrow down your options and get yourself enrolled in the best fit!
You can also find more information at the included links on two of the most popular/used plans – TRICARE Prime and TRICARE Select.
What is DEERS and why is that important?
The Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) is the massive system that the Department of Defense uses to keep track of it’s military personnel (active duty or not) and their family members. Active duty personnel were automatically enrolled in the system when they enlisted or were commissioned. As military spouses, we have to be registered by our sponsor (the service member).
If you have your dependent military ID, great news…you’re enrolled! That process you went through with personnel on base after being married? That’s the registration process. If you have kiddos, same thing is required, you have to take them on base (if they’re 10 or older) and register them in the system. For little cherubs under the age of 10, you can register them on base without them being present.
Note: there are always exceptions to these requirements, such as dual-military children, so if you’re unsure, ask!
This registration has to happen if you want to be considered eligible for TRICARE. It’s also important to note that every time you move you have to make sure you (and your spouse/kids) update your new information in DEERS, because although your eligibility for TRICARE as a whole won’t change, your plan options might.
How do I update my DEERS info and find out if my TRICARE plan options have changed?
There are a variety of ways to update the information that you can do without your sponsor being present. From good ol’ fashioned snail mail to utilizing the online portal called milConnect (online partner to DEERS that allows you to access your information without going on base and working through the personnel office), you can find all you need to know on how and where to update your info here. If you’re like us and want to talk to a person, you’re able to contact a regional contractor who should be able to get you updated in the system and answer any questions you have.
What is a Regional Contractor?
This is where your geographical location plays a big role. TRICARE is broken down into 3 large regions, East, West, and Overseas. The overseas region is then broken down into 3 more regions, Eurasia-Africa, Latin America-Canada, and Pacific Area. All of these regions have different regional contractors and they will have more detailed answers about what your coverage looks like in your specific region. Regional contractors = the assigned agencies that know the ins and outs of things like enrollments, referrals, authorizations, claim processing, beneficiary education, provider education, provider networks, etc. for each specific regional area.
