December 17th, 2012 | TriCare Help | Posted by Military Times
My wife and I are Tricare for Life beneficiaries. We are traveling to Europe this winter and realize that while our Medicare will not cover us overseas, Tricare will provide a degree of coverage. We purchased ?trip insurance,? which includes a medical portion. The trip insurance says they are the second payer, although I have heard that Tricare is always the second payer by federal law. Which will actually pay first?
You correctly note that by law, Tricare must be last payer to all other health insurance. But there is one exception to that rule: Tricare is first payer to supplemental insurance coverage, a category into which your short-term travel policy falls. Supplemental insurance pays after Tricare pays its portion of the bill, reimbursing beneficiaries for out-of-pocket medical expenses that you paid to civilian providers based on the plan?s policies. All supplemental insurance policies have their own fine print, so you should read your travel insurance policy carefully to make sure you know what it will and will not cover.
You can discuss this further with the managed-care contractor for the Tricare region in which you live. If you contact your managed care contractor, you should also inquire about any emergency guidelines you need to know about while you are outside the U.S.
As your primary coverage while overseas will be the Tricare Standard portion of your Tricare for Life benefit, be prepared to pay up front for urgent or emergency care. You will then have to submit a claim for reimbursement when you return home. Make sure you save all medical bills and receipts to submit with your reimbursement claim. You would file claims through International SOS, the contractor for the Tricare Overseas Program.
Some general tips: Before your trip, make sure that the registry information on you and your wife in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System database is accurate and up to date. DEERS is the Defense Department?s eligibility portal for Tricare; you can reach the DEERS main support office at toll-free 1-800-538-9552. Also, while you?re overseas, keep handy the phone number for the Tricare Area Office that covers Eurasia andAfrica. The number is 011-49-6302-67-6314.
Tags: Medicare, other health insurance, outside the U.S., supplements, Tricare For Life
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