Q & A
My husband will turn 65 next year and go on Medicare and Tricare for Life. Will my Tricare coverage continue until I turn 65 a year later, or should I enroll in my company’s health insurance program for 2014?
Answer: As the spouse of a military retiree, you will never lose Tricare eligibility as long as you remain married. You may stay on whatever Tricare plan you currently use (most likely Tricare Prime or Standard) until you also reach age 65, at which time you’ll make the same transition to Tricare for Life. Newly Medicare-eligible individuals normally receive their Medicare cards three months before turning 65. When your husband receives his, he should contact the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System to update his information file to reflect the fact that he has transitioned to Tricare for Life. He should do the same for you when you go through that process. He can engage DEERS by visiting the ID Card/DEERS office on any military installation or by calling the main DEERS support office in California at 800-538-9552.
You can read up on the details of Tricare Prime, as well as the various other Tricare plans, atwww.tricare.mil/welcome/plans.aspx.
Write to Tricare Help, Times News Service, 6883 Commercial Drive, Springfield, VA 22159; or http://tricarehelp@militarytimes.com/. In email, include the word “Tricare” in the subject line and do not attach files. Get Tricare advice any time at http://blogs.militarytimes.com/tricarehelp/.
Source: http://www.armytimes.com - 11/21/2013
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