Textbooks, Transitions and TRICARE
Understanding benefits for your college student.
by Brian P. Smith, TriWest Healthcare Alliance
Starting college can be a time of change; new freedoms, exciting opportunities and new chances to experience life to the fullest.
And that’s just for the parents.
Whether your son is attending college across town or your daughter chose the school on the other side of the state or country, TRICARE will be there to cover their healthcare needs. With everything new in the student’s life, it’s nice to know TRICARE healthcare coverage can remain continuous.
Eligibility
Whether packing sweaters or shorts, be sure to add your child’s military ID card. And, this is important, update your child’s personal information including their new address in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS).
One more reason to circle their 21st birthday on your calendar.
Your unmarried child remains eligible for TRICARE coverage until age 21. Two things have to be true to extend coverage until the 23rd birthday:
1. Your child must be enrolled full-time at an accredited college or university
2. The sponsor (parent or legal guardian) must provide more than half of the child’s financial support.
As long as both of the requirements are met, TRICARE coverage extends up to age 23. If your child graduates or is no longer a full-time student before then, TRICARE eligibility ends.
You must update your child’s DEERS record before their 21st birthday to extend eligibility. Your local uniformed services identification card-issuing facility will have more information about which documents are needed to extend eligibility. You can make the update by visiting an ID card location or by contacting DEERS (see contact information). Dependents over age 18 can also make their own changes in DEERS.
Your son can remain enrolled in TRICARE Prime as long as he moves to an area with Prime coverage (a Prime Service Area). He will have to access all of his health care through a new primary care manager (PCM).
Beneficiary Web Enrollment
You can make changes to your child’s contact information through the Beneficiary Web Enrollment (BWE) site (https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/bwe/) and it will automatically update DEERS. You can also adjust their TRICARE Prime coverage (enroll, request a new primary care manager, or terminate enrollment) online through BWE.
Split Enrollment and Other Health Insurance
For families who pay an annual TRICARE Prime enrollment fee, when an eligible student moves to another area where Prime is available, they will keep their coverage and there won’t be any additional fees. A split enrollment allows the family to pay one fee to the home TRICARE regional contractor when a child lives in a different TRICARE region (except overseas). Update your home TRICARE regional contractor and your son’s regional contractor when you have a split enrollment.
What if TRICARE Prime is not available where your son lives? As long as he remains eligible, he can use TRICARE Standard or Extra for his health care coverage (after terminating enrollment from Prime) which includes applicable cost-shares and annual deductibles.
Your child’s school may offer student health plans. TRICARE would pay second to other health insurance.
TRICARE can help your student transition to college by taking the worry out of their health care coverage. Transitioning a bedroom to an exercise room, though, is completely up to you.
Location
At home: Your hopes of an empty (and clean) nest may have fizzled when your daughter decided to live at home and attend school. However, she can continue her TRICARE coverage for as long as she’s eligible.
Close to home: Moving out of the house, but sticking around close enough for the occasional home-cooked meal and to catch up on the week’s laundry, your daughter will most likely use the same TRICARE coverage she used at home. Update DEERS with her new address to help ensure smooth claims processing.
Out-of-state: Your son followed his dream to attend college in another state. No matter if he’s in a different TRICARE region; TRICARE program options are available, although it may not be the same program he used at home. Before you start redecorating his room, update DEERS with his new address and other contact information.
Pharmacy
TRICARE-eligible students can use the TRICARE pharmacy benefit to have prescriptions filled at a military treatment facility pharmacy, through the TRICARE Mail Order Pharmacy, or from a TRICARE retail network pharmacy. Costs will depend on the medication and which pharmacy option is used.
Dental
Depending on the status of the student’s sponsor (active duty, retired or National Guard and Reserve), the student may be eligible to purchase coverage under the TRICARE Dental Program or the TRICARE Retiree Dental Program.
TRICARE Regions
www.tricare.mil/contactus
TRICARE West Region
1-888-TRIWEST
TRICARE North Region
1-877-TRICARE
TRICARE South Region
1-800-444-5445
TRICARE Pharmacy Options
www.tricare.mil/pharmacy
TRICARE Dental Options
www.tricare.mil/dental
Update DEERS
By Phone: 1-800-538-9552
By Fax: 1-831-655-8317
Online: www.tricare.mil/DEERS
At an ID Card Office: www.dmdc.osd.mil./rsl