Baby Steps: TRICARE Prime for Your New Family

There are only a few steps you have to take to ensure continuous TRICARE Prime coverage for your new eligible child, newborn or adopted. If your child loses or changes coverage, you may receive unexpected bills or be responsible for paying some fees out-of-pocket.

New parents have 60 days from the date of birth or adoption to register their eligible child in DEERS (see below) and enroll their child into TRICARE Prime. On the 61st day, a child not enrolled in Prime will automatically be covered by TRICARE Standard.

You can still enroll you child in Prime, but if a completed application for Prime enrollment is received by TriWest on or before the 20th of the month, your Prime coverage is not effective until the 1st of the next month. If TriWest receives the application after the 20th of the month, your coverage will be effective on the 1st of the month after next.

By taking a couple of baby steps within the first 60 days, you can keep your child’s Prime coverage continuous:

1. DEERS (Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System)

The first step is to add the child into DEERS. This must be done at a military ID card-issuing site. You may contact DEERS at 1-800-538-9552 to obtain the location of the ID site nearest to you.

An Application for Uniformed Services Identification Card and DEERS Enrollment Form (DD Form 1172) must be signed at the DEERS ID site by the sponsor. Additional documentation, such as a birth certificate, is also required. For more specific information, please contact DEERS.

2. TRICARE Prime Enrollment

Once your child is registered and eligible in DEERS, you can enroll them in Prime. Go to www.triwest.com and click on Enrollment for more information.

To enroll your child by mail, you may download a TRICARE Prime Enrollment Application and PCM Change Form (DD Form 2876) and mail the form into the address listed.

You will need to identify your first and second preference for a primary care manager (PCM), since the final PCM assignment is dependent upon provider availability and your local Military Treatment Facility (MTF) policy. If you do not indicate your preference, a PCM will be assigned to you.

If you are an active duty family member (ADFM) and would like your child to receive medical care from an MTF PCM, you should contact your local TRICARE Service Center (TSC) before submitting your enrollment application for the names of available providers. MTF providers are not listed in the online Provider Directory; to find an MTF, use this online locator.