Tricare Help: No coverage for pregnant girlfriend unless you marry - Getting out, military health issues - Navy Times

Tricare Help: No coverage for pregnant girlfriend unless you marry

Answering your questions on Tricare.

Q. I’m deploying soon and my girlfriend is pregnant with my child. Is the pregnancy covered by Tricare? When the baby is born, will he qualify? How can I get them covered so she has no medical care problems while I’m away?

Your girlfriend cannot become eligible for Tricare unless you marry her. Her maternity care cannot be covered otherwise.

Your baby will become eligible for Tricare at birth, but you must register him first with the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System. See your unit personnel office to do that.

I suggest you call DEERS at 800-538-9552. DEERS will answer all your questions regarding Tricare eligibility.

Your questions also raise several legal issues, but I’m not a lawyer. I strongly suggest you contact your local judge advocate general’s office without delay. There are some things only a lawyer can set up properly, such as a will, custody arrangements, visitation rights and child support.

It’s also important for you to ensure you have the right to receive full information about the child’s medical care and Tricare claims. That is Privacy Act stuff, and you may regret it some day if you don’t guarantee your access to that information.

Q. I need cataract surgery. I was told that Medicare will pay 80 percent of the surgery and Tricare the remaining 20 percent. Is this true?

Although it is not possible to say in advance whether a given claim will be paid, cataract surgery and implantation of an artificial intraocular lens is a benefit covered by Medicare and Tricare. The percentages you cite are the usual distribution of payments for covered services under Tricare for Life.

Also covered by Medicare and by Tricare is the Medicare-approved cost of an initial pair of eyeglasses or contact lenses.

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Write to Tricare Help, Times News Service, 6883 Commercial Drive, Springfield, VA 22159; or tricarehelp@militarytimes.com. In e-mail, include the word “Tricare” in the subject line and do not attach files. Get Tricare advice anytime on our blog.