Tricare Help: Tricare rules for college-age kids - Getting out, military health issues - Navy Times

Tricare Help: Tricare rules for college-age kids

Q. Our family has Tricare Prime, but my daughter will be going to college in another town where Prime is not available. Can she have Tricare Standard there while the rest of the family has Prime here? We are all under TriWest.

A. Call your Tricare Prime office to advise them of your daughter’s anticipated change of address and coverage, and ask about changing her enrollment from Prime to Standard.

If your daughter agrees, send TriWest a statement from her that authorizes TriWest to deal with you in any matter regarding her medical care and Tricare claims. That will let you help with any claims problems.

I say “if your daughter agrees” because the Privacy Act says that if she is 18 or older, she may refuse permission, even if you are her parent and sponsor. Other parents have told me that dependents 18 and older may resist granting others access to their medical information and claims — even family members.

Q. My wife is 52 and believes she is pregnant. Will Tricare pay for a first-trimester abortion? And is there an upper age limit for a woman to have maternity care covered by Tricare?

A. Federal law does not allow Tricare to pay for an abortion except when, following extensive medical review, it is determined that the life of the mother would be in danger if the baby were carried to term.

There are no age restrictions for Tricare maternity care coverage.

Note to readers

I’ve recently received several letters from retirees who are nearing 65 and Medicare entitlement. Because they will not be old enough to receive monthly checks from Social Security, they are concerned about paying their Medicare Part B monthly premiums.

It will be a financial hardship for some, but Medicare/Social Security will send them a bill for their Medicare Part B premiums every 90 days. Failure to make timely payments will result in termination of their Medicare, and Tricare for Life, eligibility.

When they are old enough to receive monthly Social Security benefits, the Part B premium will be deducted from their monthly benefit check.

For more information, call the Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213.

Note that this is not a Tricare issue; it is a provision of Social Security and Medicare laws. The loss of Tricare for Life eligibility in such cases would be due to the loss of Medicare coverage. Medicare Parts A and B make up half of Tricare for Life coverage. Without Medicare, a beneficiary’s only coverage would be Tricare Standard.

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.