Wondering about tricare coverage for my family after enlisting. Is it immediately effective or after we are stationed and through deers?

2024-02-19T14:18:12-05:00

Returning as a married soldier and I'm new to the family side of the army.

Response by PO1 H Gene Lawrence made Feb 19 at 2024 2:47 PM

2024-02-19T14:47:38-05:00

Maybe this may help: https://www.health.mil/Military-Health-Topics/MHS-Toolkits/Toolkits/DEERS#:~:text=What%20is%20DEERS%3F,who%20are%20eligible%20for%20TRICARE.

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Response by COL Randall C. made Feb 19 at 2024 4:51 PM

2024-02-19T16:51:15-05:00

You could be asking two different questions - What does it go into effect and when does it get reflected in the system?

The answer to the second is what you mentioned - they have to be registered in DEERS.

The answer to the first is slightly a bit more complicated. Joining the military is what's called a "qualifying life event" (QLE) in 'health plan enrollment speak'. Simple put, a QLE is when your eligibility for health coverage changes due to a life event (joining the military/starting a new job, getting married, birth of a child, etc.)

The day you enlisted, you and your family became eligible for coverage.

However, you only have a certain amount of time that TRICARE will allow you to register for a QLE and 'back-pay' a claim (90 days for CONUS and 120 days if OCONUS).

Your family SHOULD be auto-enrolled in TRICARE Prime once they are registered in DEERS, and you have until that 90-day windows form the QLE date to change it (for them) to TRICARE Select. I said "should" because it depends on your location and if your covered by TRICARE Price, Prime remote, etc.

Bottom line: Get your family registered in DEERS and then complete the registration for TRICARE (whichever plan works best for your family) and don't assume that you'll be auto-enrolled, because you don't want the bureaucratic headaches down the road if you chose TRICARE Prime and the enrollment didn't automatically go through.

Response by SFC Kelly Fuerhoff made Feb 20 at 2024 1:50 PM

2024-02-20T13:50:15-05:00

You have to register all dependents into DEERS. They can't use TRICARE until they are enrolled in DEERS. The soonest you get them enrolled iN DEERS, the sooner coverage starts.

This is from TRICARE:

It depends on the plan and when you enroll. For example: If you enroll in TRICARE Select during the TRICARE Open Season, your coverage starts on January 1, of the following year. If you enroll during a qualifying life event, your coverage starts on the date of the event (example, marriage, birth).

So once you enroll the dependent(s) in DEERS, then TRICARE will start from the date of marriage or birth, whichever applies on what dependents you have.

https://www.tricare.mil/FAQs/General/GEN_CoverageDates#:~:text=It%20depends%20on%20the%20plan,example%2C%20marriage%2C%20birth).

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