Tricare Help: Can we extend our son’s eligibility past age 23? - Getting out, military health issues - Navy Times

Tricare Help: Can we extend our son’s eligibility past age 23?

Q. My son will turn 23 just three weeks before he graduates from college. Is there any way his Tricare eligibility can be extended until graduation? Surely three more weeks wouldn’t be noticed in the federal budget.

A. Eligibility cannot be extended beyond age 23. Federal law requires his eligibility to end if he marries, graduates or turns 23, whichever comes first. The only exception is if he is incapable of self-support as a result of a medically determined physical or mental disability. If you believe that to be the case, call the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting Service at 800-538-9552.

Q. I am 65 with Medicare Part A and Part B, and health insurance at work. My husband, a Navy retiree, recently died. I think I lost my military health insurance when my husband died, but I’m not sure. He always took care of any claims and things. Do I have any benefits coming to me? Also, in January, I will lose my job and the health insurance that comes with it. I think I will need a Medicare supplement. Can you recommend one?

A. Yours is an example of what can happen when a military sponsor does not share information about family business with his spouse. Not discussing that information can leave families terribly vulnerable if a spouse dies suddenly.

To start, call the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting Service at 800-538-9552. Explain your situation and ask if your DEERS record is up to date. If it isn’t, ask for help to fix it.

Your record should report that you are enrolled in Medicare Part B and are eligible for Tricare for Life. Ask DEERS for the telephone number of your Regional Tricare Office. Call that office and ask for a free Tricare for Life Handbook, then study it carefully to make sure you fully understand your benefits.

You will not need a Medicare supplement or a Medicare Part D Pharmacy Plan. Call Express Scripts at 866-363-8779 for information about the free Tricare Pharmacy Program. All Tricare beneficiaries are automatically eligible.

Under Tricare for Life, you must seek all of your medical care from Medicare providers only. The provider will file a Medicare claim. Medicare will pay its share to the provider and forward the claim to Tricare as second payer. On the vast majority of the claims, Medicare and Tricare will cover all the services on the Medicare claim, and you will pay nothing.

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 more Tricare advice at our Tricare Help blog.