Before you sign up for the civilian health care, check with TRICARE because I believe her pregnancy is a pre-existing condition. As a pre-existing condition, I believe they have to cover it anyway. The very same pregnancy/pre-existing condition may make civilian health insurance cost prohibitive! Obviously, check this out for yourself and make triple sure you're GTG either way. BTW, since your separation is so close to this highly expensive event, have you given any thought to maybe slipping your DOS a month? It's much easier to use health care you already have than to try to obtain it.

Congrats there DAD...Philly

 

I had a similar situation, baby due sept 26th, I was to get out on the 30th, I was able to get a one month extension when I explained to bupers the situation

 

Thanks for all the help, I'm carefully weighing my options. I was thinking of signing up for company health care "just in case" I have tricare issues as mentioned above, and then dropping it once I get established on tricare (when I am eligible to drop it in the next enrollment window.) Anyone know if there are gotchas there? I heard that they (hospitals) can make you use the least beneficial plan if you are covered by two but not sure if that is true or not. The tricare 1-800 says its ok, but..

 

Another thing to consider when on TRS is when you go on orders for 31 days or longer. If you are on orders for that length of time or longer, you are eligible for Tricare Prime. Your TRS coverage will be on hold. You do not have to re-enroll in TRS at the conclusion of your orders because it will be automatic. I was told the opposite and assumed I would have to re-enroll once I came off orders. However, in my situation, I came off orders and started on my civilian health care. The following month, I received collection notices for my TRS bill which really ticked me off. Lesson learned is to call TRS and tell them what your exact plan is (i.e. get on or off orders, go back to TRS, drop TRS, etc). Get the person's name and ask them to make a note of your conversation in your file. It will save some potential headaches.

C-17 D.

 

I am switching to the reserves in June. How does tricare reserve select stack up with the health care provided by DAL or CAL?

 

Most guys I know choose Tricare over the company health plans.

 

250/mo for a family plan of 85/15 share, 300 annual deductible and a 1000 yearly max out-of-pocket cap is hard to beat. And it's better than prime (which is free mind you) in that you don't have to deal with crappy military medicine and PCM authorizations. It used to suck because the tier program made it wicked expensive (3x the current premium) but today it's hard to beat, for a part-time job mind you, so far Netjets is the only company I've heard that has health plans that can't touched, all other flying jobs, meh.

 

Thanks. We use tricare standard now for the luxury of picking our own providers. It has been well worth the money on active duty.

 

I'm seeing a lot of folks on this site considering Guard/Reserve transition from active duty(Prime or Standard) and those considering off the street to Guard/Reserve, Would someone who is using Tricare Reserve Select please chime in and educate us?

Here's what I know so far:

TRICARE Plans - TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS)

Mo. Premium: Member and Family: $195.81 per month

Annual Outpatient Deductible: Sponsor Rank E5 and above: $150 per individual/$300 per family

Cost Shares: typically 15% after the $300 deductible is met. (I didn't see anything about the $1000 annual cap on this)

Dental.......Family: $31.96 per month(Active duty status), Sponsor and family: $90.57 per month(reserve status)

Vision?

Pharmacy?

Medical(200*12)+300 = 2700 Dental(100*12)=1200
So..........on a normal healthy year what are you paying under Tricare Reserve Select(family of four)? $4000-5000?

What am I missing?

Any and all advice/input is appreciated for those who are making the decision to transition...........thanks y'all!

 

I think your numbers look good. The bottom line is that, for the money, you will not find better coverage.

Even compared to employer sponsored (e.g. airline) insurance, your overall costs will be lower with TRS for comparable coverage.