RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. –
From the temporary journey of vacation to the long-term adjustment of a permanent change of station (PCS), summer is a time for being on the move.
If a PCS within the U.S. is in your near future, you may have questions about how this change affects your TRICARE coverage.
Health Net Federal Services, LLC, the managed care support contractor for the TRICARE North Region, offers the following tips to beneficiaries preparing to move to help ensure their transition is a smooth one:
1. Contact DEERS. Call the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) at 1-800-538-9552 or log in to http://www.dmdc.osd.mil to confirm your family's demographic information is up to date.
2. Keep your old primary care manager's contact information. It's common for service members to go on vacation before reporting to their new duty station. In this case, TRICARE Prime beneficiaries' old primary care manager (PCM) is still responsible for coordinating any non-emergent medical care.
3. Get your medical and dental records before you move. If your new doctor has a question about your health history, you'll have these available to better coordinate your care. This also saves time. "It can take two months or more to get your records if you've already moved," TRICARE education specialist Terry Goodyear said. "You want to have these at-the-ready for when the time comes."
4. Determine which TRICARE plan options are available. Your TRICARE plan options may change based on your new location. Visit www.tricare.mil/welcome/planfinder to find out what plans are available in your new area.
5. Transfer your TRICARE Prime enrollment if changing regions. If you are moving to a new TRICARE region (north, south, west), do not disenroll until you've arrived at your new location. Once there, reach out to your new regional contractor to transfer enrollment. Your local TRICARE Service Center can assist you with your enrollment transfer. "Remembering that enrollment changes between regions are not automatic will save you a lot of headaches," TRICARE Service Center site administrator Sabrina Luttrell said.