TRICARE Benefits You Might Not Even Know About

From www.tricare.mil

TRICARE offers comprehensive, affordable health coverage to more than 9.6 million eligible beneficiaries worldwide. It is an enormous military health benefits system and because of its complexity, many beneficiaries may be unsure of all the benefits and programs available to them.

TRICARE has decided to highlight several well-know and maybe not-so-well-known benefits.

Electronic Explanation of Benefits

TRICARE beneficiaries can sign up and receive an explanation of benefits (EOB) electronically and eliminate the cost and clutter of paper EOBs. A TRICARE EOB is an itemized statement that shows what action TRICARE has taken on a beneficiary’s claim.

The benefits of using electronic EOBs include:

• Security: The number-one form of identity theft is through physical mail.

• Convenience: Access to the website is 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

• Speed: Beneficiaries no longer have to wait for mail delivery.

• Storage: Eliminate clutter! Four years of electronic EOBs are kept on file.

• Environment: Electronic EOBs save trees and reduce carbon emissions.

Beneficiaries can sign up to receive EOBs by going to www.myTRICARE.com. Log into myTRICARE Secure by clicking the “Secure Sign-In” button. When the myTRICARE Secure home page appears on the left side of the home page, click the “Select Your EOB Preferences” button. Under the “Would you like to check your EOBs online rather than receive them in the mail?” question, click “Yes.” Click the “Submit” button at the bottom of the page.

TRR Sign-Up Options Expanded

Since Sept. 1, 2010, members of the Retired Reserve who aren’t 60, the so-called “gray area” retirees, have been able to purchase TRICARE Retired Reserve (TRR) to provide health coverage for themselves and their eligible family members. To make purchasing TRR easier, gray area retirees can now get a DS Logon by contacting the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System/Defense Manpower Data Center Support Office (DSO) and remotely verify their identity.

Gray area retirees can use the DS Logon to access the Web-based Reserve Component Purchased TRICARE Application to qualify for and purchase TRR. If a gray area retiree doesn’t have a DS Logon, but has a retired military ID card, he or she can call the DSO at 1-800-538-9552 (1-866-363-2883 for the hearing impaired) to request remote proofing documentation. DSO will provide step-by-step instructions and the appropriate documentation to get a DS Logon via remote proofing. For instructions on how to qualify for and purchase TRR go to www.tricare.mil/trr.

Well-Child Care: No Co-Pays or Cost-Shares

Keeping toddlers healthy is a big responsibility and TRICARE is here to help. TRICARE provides well-child care for eligible children from birth to age 6. For well-child care, there are no copayments or cost-shares. The well-child benefit includes routine newborn care, comprehensive health-promotion and disease-prevention exams, vision and hearing screenings, routine immunizations and developmental assessments. To learn more about well-child benefit, visitwww.tricare.mil/baby.

Hospice Care, Zero Deductible

Hospice care is a zero-deductible benefit for all TRICARE beneficiaries. It gives TRICARE beneficiaries access to personal care and home health aide assistance. It initially provides two 90-day periods of care, followed by an unlimited number of 60-day periods. Each period requires prior authorization from the beneficiary’s regional health care contractor.

Not all care is covered by the hospice benefit. Individual hospices may charge for some items, such as outpatient medications or inpatient respite care. Charges for medical care not related to the terminal illness fall under the beneficiary’s basic TRICARE benefit. For more information about the hospice benefit, beneficiaries can contact their regional health care contractor or their TRICARE Area Office (www.tricare.mil/contactus).

Beneficiaries can view a list of covered TRICARE services on TRICARE’s website,www.tricare.mil/mybenefit/home/Medical/IsItCovered. They can also contact their regional health care contractor for more information.

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