Balut

Now that the enrollment window for health care coverage is open, AND we are re-evaluating our expenses, I am soliciting opinions on why I should or shouldn't go with TriCare Prime for myself and family for medical coverage versus FedEx (we are keeping FedEx vision and dental). Savings per month would be approximately $141 with TriCare Prime and that would cover a lot of $12 co-pays (if we even went to the doctor that often; which we don't).

I believe this topic was hashed-out before, but I couldn't find the thread. Thanks for any info you can provide.

Dakota

Balut,
IMO go with the Fedex Buy-up plan! I go to the doctor twice a year -- whenever I need a Class I physical; my family goes to the doctor maybe three times/year. . . until this year. In the past two months, I've been through three surgeries for two different kinds of cancer and haven't had to deal with one doctor bill -- Anthem covered everything 100% (except for the $40 co-pay to see a specialist). It's a fantastic benefit and worth every penny. Since I'm retired military, I find Tricare to be a pain in the a$$ and will not use it unless absolutely necessary -- maybe Prime is different, but I find Tricare Standard disappointing. Hopefully, you or your family will never have to take full advantage of the Fedex plan, but it is a great piece of mind knowing I have it. Now if we could only bump up the LTD to something more than 60%.

FDXLAG

Some numbers for family plans:

FDX Buyup about $75 a month extra over base plan or $900 a year.

Tricare Prime - $460 a year.


With buyup plan and tricare basic I haven't paid a co pay for anything in two years.

Tricare prescription plan sucks IMHO.

Can you use your HCSA to pay for TRI Care Prime enrollment fee?

AFW_MD11

Just curious......

Are you guys talking about Tricare eligibility as retirees or active Guard/Reservist?

FDXLAG

I am assuming I am a retiree.

Jetjok

I agree wholeheartedly with what was said above. We too have the FedEx buy-up plan and also Tricare Basic. Our medical expenses have been virtually zero, and that included my open heart surgery, and before that, 6 sessions of chemo and all the doctors that go along with that.

More importantly, Balut, is the backup that having both insurances provides, because as with the stock market, past performance is not an indicator of future events. What you don't want to have happen is for a family member to get really ill, and then have to deal, not only with that, but with all the problems associated with medical bills. Believe me, they can add up in a hurry.

JJ

MaydayMark

My wife has had several $100,000+ surgeries/hospitalizations. It's alarming to open a bill and see numbers with 6 figures in them. Good insurance is a wonderful thing. We've been reasonably happy with the FedEx Anthem BCBS PPO plan. The Wageworks HCSA has been a huge pain in the arse!

My active duty buds refer to TriCare as the "Try-To-Get-Care" Plan

Mark

2005 Blues

In my experience Tricare Prime works pretty well, just be prepared to be billed for everything that you do. Seemed like I constantly had to get on the phone to Tricare and spend multiple calls trying to figure out why I'm getting billed for things that should have been covered. There's always "some code that got entered incorrectly" making it appear I owed them money. Everything would eventually get straightened out but was a pain in the a$$. The FedEx plan just seems to get things right the first time.

HazCan

Totally agree about Wageworks. Huge pain.

FDXer

Couldn't agree more. Radiology and Dermatology clinics billed as such on the receipts. Wageworks requires more documentation....what do they think I was doing there--buying groceries?