View Full Version : Tricare
gunnyhiles
07-02-08, 10:49 AM
Over the last 20+ years I have had hundreds of thousands $ in surgery, I paid $000.00. My wife and I without Tricare would pay over $1,000 but with Tricare pay a few hundred. I have had no bad experiences from them as well as the VA.
outlaw3179
07-02-08, 10:53 AM
Gunny when I had my 2nd son my wife and I ended up paying about $3K in out of pocket . My insurance sucked bad. Our third son my out of pocket was $15. Since then my kids have had a few surgeries or been in the hospital for some reason or another for short periods of time nothing to serious , and Ive never had to pay anything. Never had a problem with them.
Tri-Care for Life is the best insurance plan going. My Dad is retired Navy/Air Force(3 War Vet). He has a knee replacement and several other surgeries in the past few years all at no cost. BTW- he will not go near the VA
FattyTheFerret
07-07-08, 12:20 PM
Coming from a former IT manager of a neurology practice, TriCare is a pain to deal with. I've never seen them deny a claim and the servicemembers receive top notch care while having few issues with coverage but it's hell on the doctor's office.
It's often three times as much paperwork as any other insurance company save for Medicare, they take longer to pay than any other and they only pay the equivalent of Medicare, never a penny more. They always pay and always approve claims, which is great when it comes to caring for the patient, but it is a much greater headache on the staff.
Apparently worth it, though. From what I've seen they tend to recommend high quality doctors and there isn't a half-decent practice in the area that won't accept it.
yanacek
07-07-08, 03:49 PM
While I was in the Corps, Tricare was very good. When I first retired it was also pretty good. Then DOD decided to drop my area from "Prime Coverage." I still got to keep Prime as long as my current physician remained a Primary Care Manager. Tricare then went to work on him, denying claim after claim and forcing him to re-submit two or three times to get paid. As a result of their efforts, he dropped Tricare. The net result is that my family and I no longer have acceptable coverage. I have called them numerous times and no one there can come up with a solution, other than to blame DOD.
If anyone knows of a contact that I could call to request assistance in getting my health care retirement benefits, it would be most appreciated.