tricare

[Isabella]

i'm about to get married and my husband is in the airforce.

can you give me the lowdown on tricare? the good the bad and the ugly, please.

are you satisfied over all? do you feel like you have good coverage and are taken care of? or do you hate it?

any info, personal experiences and opinions would be appreciated!!

also thanks for the responses to my question about where he could be stationed.

much love,

 

[Isabella]

i'm about to get married and my husband is in the airforce.

can you give me the lowdown on tricare? the good the bad and the ugly, please.

are you satisfied over all? do you feel like you have good coverage and are taken care of? or do you hate it?

any info, personal experiences and opinions would be appreciated!!

also thanks for the responses to my question about where he could be stationed.

much love,

 

[Isabella]

i'm about to get married and my husband is in the airforce.

can you give me the lowdown on tricare? the good the bad and the ugly, please.

are you satisfied over all? do you feel like you have good coverage and are taken care of? or do you hate it?

any info, personal experiences and opinions would be appreciated!!

also thanks for the responses to my question about where he could be stationed.

much love,

 

[Isabella]

i'm about to get married and my husband is in the airforce.

can you give me the lowdown on tricare? the good the bad and the ugly, please.

are you satisfied over all? do you feel like you have good coverage and are taken care of? or do you hate it?

any info, personal experiences and opinions would be appreciated!!

also thanks for the responses to my question about where he could be stationed.

much love,

 

[Isabella]

i'm about to get married and my husband is in the airforce.
<br />
<br />can you give me the lowdown on tricare? the good the bad and the ugly, please.
<br />
<br />are you satisfied over all? do you feel like you have good coverage and are taken care of? or do you hate it?
<br />
<br />any info, personal experiences and opinions would be appreciated!!
<br />
<br />also thanks for the responses to my question about where he could be stationed.
<br />
<br />much love,
<br />

 

[brewz2]

We're tricare prime, and I love it! Every now and then you have your bumps in the road, but for the most part I can't complain. Both of my kids recv'd a vest - no cost at all - We receive most of our meds through the base pharmacy at no cost. If for some reason they can't get a medicine for us, we pick it up at walmart with a very small co-pay, I think it's $9. We see our ped dr for any minor things, and I give her a call every time the referrals are up and she automatically does everything without even having to go in the office for a visit. Tricare itself has gotten better I'd say over the last five years or so. But for the most part, I can't complain - we haven't had to put out much at all for expenses. Hope it helps!

 

[brewz2]

We're tricare prime, and I love it! Every now and then you have your bumps in the road, but for the most part I can't complain. Both of my kids recv'd a vest - no cost at all - We receive most of our meds through the base pharmacy at no cost. If for some reason they can't get a medicine for us, we pick it up at walmart with a very small co-pay, I think it's $9. We see our ped dr for any minor things, and I give her a call every time the referrals are up and she automatically does everything without even having to go in the office for a visit. Tricare itself has gotten better I'd say over the last five years or so. But for the most part, I can't complain - we haven't had to put out much at all for expenses. Hope it helps!

 

[brewz2]

We're tricare prime, and I love it! Every now and then you have your bumps in the road, but for the most part I can't complain. Both of my kids recv'd a vest - no cost at all - We receive most of our meds through the base pharmacy at no cost. If for some reason they can't get a medicine for us, we pick it up at walmart with a very small co-pay, I think it's $9. We see our ped dr for any minor things, and I give her a call every time the referrals are up and she automatically does everything without even having to go in the office for a visit. Tricare itself has gotten better I'd say over the last five years or so. But for the most part, I can't complain - we haven't had to put out much at all for expenses. Hope it helps!

 

[brewz2]

We're tricare prime, and I love it! Every now and then you have your bumps in the road, but for the most part I can't complain. Both of my kids recv'd a vest - no cost at all - We receive most of our meds through the base pharmacy at no cost. If for some reason they can't get a medicine for us, we pick it up at walmart with a very small co-pay, I think it's $9. We see our ped dr for any minor things, and I give her a call every time the referrals are up and she automatically does everything without even having to go in the office for a visit. Tricare itself has gotten better I'd say over the last five years or so. But for the most part, I can't complain - we haven't had to put out much at all for expenses. Hope it helps!

 

[brewz2]

We're tricare prime, and I love it! Every now and then you have your bumps in the road, but for the most part I can't complain. Both of my kids recv'd a vest - no cost at all - We receive most of our meds through the base pharmacy at no cost. If for some reason they can't get a medicine for us, we pick it up at walmart with a very small co-pay, I think it's $9. We see our ped dr for any minor things, and I give her a call every time the referrals are up and she automatically does everything without even having to go in the office for a visit. Tricare itself has gotten better I'd say over the last five years or so. But for the most part, I can't complain - we haven't had to put out much at all for expenses. Hope it helps!

 

[julie]

Tricare Prime for Mark and in 5 years we have yet to have an issue. Basically once every 6 months or so, he gets a referral from the "primary care" doctor to the CF center. They cover everything involved in those CF visits, lab, xray, office, dietician...

I wouldn't recommend standard for someone with CF. Too many co-pays and out of pocket expenses.

Prime is like an HMO (have to get a referral for EVERYTHING!) and standard is like a PPO (don't need referrals), but you pay a copay for every visit, every rx and so on

 

[julie]

Tricare Prime for Mark and in 5 years we have yet to have an issue. Basically once every 6 months or so, he gets a referral from the "primary care" doctor to the CF center. They cover everything involved in those CF visits, lab, xray, office, dietician...

I wouldn't recommend standard for someone with CF. Too many co-pays and out of pocket expenses.

Prime is like an HMO (have to get a referral for EVERYTHING!) and standard is like a PPO (don't need referrals), but you pay a copay for every visit, every rx and so on

 

[julie]

Tricare Prime for Mark and in 5 years we have yet to have an issue. Basically once every 6 months or so, he gets a referral from the "primary care" doctor to the CF center. They cover everything involved in those CF visits, lab, xray, office, dietician...

I wouldn't recommend standard for someone with CF. Too many co-pays and out of pocket expenses.

Prime is like an HMO (have to get a referral for EVERYTHING!) and standard is like a PPO (don't need referrals), but you pay a copay for every visit, every rx and so on

 

[julie]

Tricare Prime for Mark and in 5 years we have yet to have an issue. Basically once every 6 months or so, he gets a referral from the "primary care" doctor to the CF center. They cover everything involved in those CF visits, lab, xray, office, dietician...

I wouldn't recommend standard for someone with CF. Too many co-pays and out of pocket expenses.

Prime is like an HMO (have to get a referral for EVERYTHING!) and standard is like a PPO (don't need referrals), but you pay a copay for every visit, every rx and so on

 

[julie]

Tricare Prime for Mark and in 5 years we have yet to have an issue. Basically once every 6 months or so, he gets a referral from the "primary care" doctor to the CF center. They cover everything involved in those CF visits, lab, xray, office, dietician...
<br />
<br />I wouldn't recommend standard for someone with CF. Too many co-pays and out of pocket expenses.
<br />
<br />Prime is like an HMO (have to get a referral for EVERYTHING!) and standard is like a PPO (don't need referrals), but you pay a copay for every visit, every rx and so on

 

[ladybug]

I've had prime for about 6 years and started on standard for a couple years prior to that.

They each have their good and bad points.

Prime is good cause they pick up ALMOST everything that my "first" insurance BCBS doesn't. However, they don't cover some things and if BCBS doesn't cover it, Tricare won't pay a dime. So, that's good to know. If you have another primary insurance you MUST follow the rules of that insurance (i.e. going to an in-network provider, etc.) or Tricare won't pay anything for your visit. I don't need referrals since I am first and foremost covered under BCBS. I think this is awesome cause I've heard from a few people on our current base that referrals to the one and only CF center in this state are a MESS and most PCMs on our current base don't do the referrals to someone ON base correctly, let alone a referral off base. So, I do think it depends on the competancy of the referring physician with regard to how smoothly the process goes.

I had standard when we first got married becaues I lived in a small town without any Tricare providers. I had THOUGHT this was how it had to be... BUT, since I have BCBS as primary, I now know that I should have had prime all along. I had assumed since I lived somewhere that I didn't have a PCM I had to have copays, etc. I must say, however, the copays for Standard were much less than my copays for BCBS. Even when I went on IVs I dont' think I paid more than maybe $100 or so out of pocket. This could have changed though cause it was 7+ years ago.

I agree with Julie that you should deff. get Prime. And, hopefully you'll get a base that the docs know how to do a referral in a timely fashion (if you dont' have other insurance). However, if you're covered other under insurance, it is soooooo much easier cause you just follow the rules of that insurance and then Tricare picks up the difference. The only really crappy part of that is that I have to pay out of pocket every single month for meds off base (my base can't get most of the CF meds) and then submit the claim myself to Tricare for reimbursement. So, I do have the up-front cost of copays, etc. for meds.

Hope this helps! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

 

[ladybug]

I've had prime for about 6 years and started on standard for a couple years prior to that.

They each have their good and bad points.

Prime is good cause they pick up ALMOST everything that my "first" insurance BCBS doesn't. However, they don't cover some things and if BCBS doesn't cover it, Tricare won't pay a dime. So, that's good to know. If you have another primary insurance you MUST follow the rules of that insurance (i.e. going to an in-network provider, etc.) or Tricare won't pay anything for your visit. I don't need referrals since I am first and foremost covered under BCBS. I think this is awesome cause I've heard from a few people on our current base that referrals to the one and only CF center in this state are a MESS and most PCMs on our current base don't do the referrals to someone ON base correctly, let alone a referral off base. So, I do think it depends on the competancy of the referring physician with regard to how smoothly the process goes.

I had standard when we first got married becaues I lived in a small town without any Tricare providers. I had THOUGHT this was how it had to be... BUT, since I have BCBS as primary, I now know that I should have had prime all along. I had assumed since I lived somewhere that I didn't have a PCM I had to have copays, etc. I must say, however, the copays for Standard were much less than my copays for BCBS. Even when I went on IVs I dont' think I paid more than maybe $100 or so out of pocket. This could have changed though cause it was 7+ years ago.

I agree with Julie that you should deff. get Prime. And, hopefully you'll get a base that the docs know how to do a referral in a timely fashion (if you dont' have other insurance). However, if you're covered other under insurance, it is soooooo much easier cause you just follow the rules of that insurance and then Tricare picks up the difference. The only really crappy part of that is that I have to pay out of pocket every single month for meds off base (my base can't get most of the CF meds) and then submit the claim myself to Tricare for reimbursement. So, I do have the up-front cost of copays, etc. for meds.

Hope this helps! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

 

[ladybug]

I've had prime for about 6 years and started on standard for a couple years prior to that.

They each have their good and bad points.

Prime is good cause they pick up ALMOST everything that my "first" insurance BCBS doesn't. However, they don't cover some things and if BCBS doesn't cover it, Tricare won't pay a dime. So, that's good to know. If you have another primary insurance you MUST follow the rules of that insurance (i.e. going to an in-network provider, etc.) or Tricare won't pay anything for your visit. I don't need referrals since I am first and foremost covered under BCBS. I think this is awesome cause I've heard from a few people on our current base that referrals to the one and only CF center in this state are a MESS and most PCMs on our current base don't do the referrals to someone ON base correctly, let alone a referral off base. So, I do think it depends on the competancy of the referring physician with regard to how smoothly the process goes.

I had standard when we first got married becaues I lived in a small town without any Tricare providers. I had THOUGHT this was how it had to be... BUT, since I have BCBS as primary, I now know that I should have had prime all along. I had assumed since I lived somewhere that I didn't have a PCM I had to have copays, etc. I must say, however, the copays for Standard were much less than my copays for BCBS. Even when I went on IVs I dont' think I paid more than maybe $100 or so out of pocket. This could have changed though cause it was 7+ years ago.

I agree with Julie that you should deff. get Prime. And, hopefully you'll get a base that the docs know how to do a referral in a timely fashion (if you dont' have other insurance). However, if you're covered other under insurance, it is soooooo much easier cause you just follow the rules of that insurance and then Tricare picks up the difference. The only really crappy part of that is that I have to pay out of pocket every single month for meds off base (my base can't get most of the CF meds) and then submit the claim myself to Tricare for reimbursement. So, I do have the up-front cost of copays, etc. for meds.

Hope this helps! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

 

[ladybug]

I've had prime for about 6 years and started on standard for a couple years prior to that.

They each have their good and bad points.

Prime is good cause they pick up ALMOST everything that my "first" insurance BCBS doesn't. However, they don't cover some things and if BCBS doesn't cover it, Tricare won't pay a dime. So, that's good to know. If you have another primary insurance you MUST follow the rules of that insurance (i.e. going to an in-network provider, etc.) or Tricare won't pay anything for your visit. I don't need referrals since I am first and foremost covered under BCBS. I think this is awesome cause I've heard from a few people on our current base that referrals to the one and only CF center in this state are a MESS and most PCMs on our current base don't do the referrals to someone ON base correctly, let alone a referral off base. So, I do think it depends on the competancy of the referring physician with regard to how smoothly the process goes.

I had standard when we first got married becaues I lived in a small town without any Tricare providers. I had THOUGHT this was how it had to be... BUT, since I have BCBS as primary, I now know that I should have had prime all along. I had assumed since I lived somewhere that I didn't have a PCM I had to have copays, etc. I must say, however, the copays for Standard were much less than my copays for BCBS. Even when I went on IVs I dont' think I paid more than maybe $100 or so out of pocket. This could have changed though cause it was 7+ years ago.

I agree with Julie that you should deff. get Prime. And, hopefully you'll get a base that the docs know how to do a referral in a timely fashion (if you dont' have other insurance). However, if you're covered other under insurance, it is soooooo much easier cause you just follow the rules of that insurance and then Tricare picks up the difference. The only really crappy part of that is that I have to pay out of pocket every single month for meds off base (my base can't get most of the CF meds) and then submit the claim myself to Tricare for reimbursement. So, I do have the up-front cost of copays, etc. for meds.

Hope this helps! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

 

[ladybug]

I've had prime for about 6 years and started on standard for a couple years prior to that.
<br />
<br />They each have their good and bad points.
<br />
<br />Prime is good cause they pick up ALMOST everything that my "first" insurance BCBS doesn't. However, they don't cover some things and if BCBS doesn't cover it, Tricare won't pay a dime. So, that's good to know. If you have another primary insurance you MUST follow the rules of that insurance (i.e. going to an in-network provider, etc.) or Tricare won't pay anything for your visit. I don't need referrals since I am first and foremost covered under BCBS. I think this is awesome cause I've heard from a few people on our current base that referrals to the one and only CF center in this state are a MESS and most PCMs on our current base don't do the referrals to someone ON base correctly, let alone a referral off base. So, I do think it depends on the competancy of the referring physician with regard to how smoothly the process goes.
<br />
<br />I had standard when we first got married becaues I lived in a small town without any Tricare providers. I had THOUGHT this was how it had to be... BUT, since I have BCBS as primary, I now know that I should have had prime all along. I had assumed since I lived somewhere that I didn't have a PCM I had to have copays, etc. I must say, however, the copays for Standard were much less than my copays for BCBS. Even when I went on IVs I dont' think I paid more than maybe $100 or so out of pocket. This could have changed though cause it was 7+ years ago.
<br />
<br />I agree with Julie that you should deff. get Prime. And, hopefully you'll get a base that the docs know how to do a referral in a timely fashion (if you dont' have other insurance). However, if you're covered other under insurance, it is soooooo much easier cause you just follow the rules of that insurance and then Tricare picks up the difference. The only really crappy part of that is that I have to pay out of pocket every single month for meds off base (my base can't get most of the CF meds) and then submit the claim myself to Tricare for reimbursement. So, I do have the up-front cost of copays, etc. for meds.
<br />
<br />Hope this helps! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">