If you are activated under federal orders, even if your final duty station location is within the U.S., you and your dependents might be eligible for TRICARE health care coverage.

Eligibility for TRICARE depends on the duration of your orders and the operation to which you are assigned. If your orders are for more than 30 days, and not in support of a contingency operation such as Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom, you and your eligible dependents (generally spouses and children) will be covered starting on your active duty date.

If your initial orders are for less than 30 days, but the orders are extended to bring the total over 30 days, you (and your family members) will become eligible for TRICARE coverage and it will be retroactive to your original active duty date. Even if the duty is voluntary, the same 30-day limit will affect eligibility.

To ensure that your family members are eligible for TRICARE coverage, you should update their information in Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) and get ID cards for each person.


The TRICARE Prime plan is the option with the least out-of-pocket expenses, but requires a primary care manager for all care and referrals. If you and your family live in a Prime Service Area (PSA), you will likely receive your care at a Military Treatment Facility (MTF) or be assigned to a civilian Primary Care doctor. Enrollment into Prime can be done at www.triwest.com.

If you lived with your family in an area designated as a Prime Remote Area (generally more than 50 miles or one hour's drive from an MTF) before your activation, your family can enroll in TRICARE Prime Remote for Active Duty Family Members. This coverage waives the requirement for care at an MTF, but retains the need for a primary care manager, referrals and authorizations.

You, the Reserve Component (RC) member, are required to enroll Prime or Prime Remote. Your eligible family members will also have the option to enroll if they choose to do so.

Your family has the option of using TRICARE Standard coverage. There is no enrollment necessary and coverage automatically begins on your activation date. With TRICARE Standard and Extra, your family is responsible for cost-sharing at the time of service, as well as annual deductibles. Extra coverage is an additional benefit under Standard. It simply means that by using a TRICARE Network Provider, you will receive a 5% discount for your cost share and the provider will always file the claim for your family. Care from non-network providers will be processed under Standard coverage.

You may elect to keep the health care coverage you had prior to receiving active duty orders. However, once you, the service member, begin active duty TRICARE will be your health care plan. You do have the option of re-enrolling with your previous plan without risk of penalty or re-qualification effective the date of your de-activation. If your family elects to keep other coverage while you are on active duty, you will still be responsible for any premiums (if your duty extends over 30 days, you may be responsible for up to 102% of the premium, including the employer's contribution) during that time. TRICARE coverage for eligible family members will be applied to claims only after the other health insurance (OHI) coverage is applied. Additional information can be found at http://esgr.org/userrathelaw.asp?p=4317.

To keep OHI in addition to TRICARE during your activation, it may be more affordable to enroll in another group health plan, if available, such as through a spouse's employer. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) may give your family the right to request a special enrollment in another plan, provided you do so within 30 days of losing your initial coverage. When deciding on the coverage options, keep in mind the length of your active duty orders, how that will affect any premiums, as well as the costs and scope of coverage available under each different plan.

If you are an inactive RC member, you have the option of enrolling yourself and your family for coverage under the TRICARE Dental Program (TDP). As a service member, your TDP coverage will end once you are ordered to active duty for more than 30 days and, when activated, you will have the same benefits as an active duty service member. If you had TDP coverage before activation, you will be automatically re-enrolled upon deactivation.

Your family members are eligible to enroll, or remain enrolled, in the TDP, regardless of the service member's enrollment. Active Duty family members (including activated Guard and Reserve) pay a reduced monthly premium for the TDP. Initial enrollment requires a 12-month commitment, then continues on a month-to-month basis.

National Guard and Reserve families throughout the West Region can easily learn about and monitor their TRICARE benefit online as a registered user at www.triwest.com.

Beneficiaries registered on www.triwest.com can check authorization status, verify eligibility and catch up on TRICARE benefits and news. In addition, a customized personal profile page allows registered users to navigate easily through their personal TRICARE benefit information to find what they need, when they need it. There's even a dedicated National Guard and Reserve portal on TriWest.com with news and resources specifically for Citizen Soldiers and their families.

Beneficiaries can select the ‘Register as a New User' button from the main page of www.triwest.com and follow a few simple steps to register. There's also a demonstration video available on the main page that shows beneficiaries how to register with step-by-step screenshots.

Features such as viewing and printing claims statements and Explanations of Benefits (EOBs), registering for automatic TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) enrollment fee payment options, and receiving TRICARE updates are also available online. If you have not already, you may also sign up to receive this quarterly newsletter, TRICARE On Point, via e-mail.

For more information about TriWest or to learn more about the benefits of registration, please visit www.triwest.com.

If you have received delayed-effective-date active duty orders with a reporting date some time in the future, did you know you and your family might already be eligible for health care coverage under TRICARE?

If your orders are for more than 30 days of active duty and in support of a contingency operation (either within the fifty states or overseas), you and your family may be eligible for certain TRICARE medical and dental benefits even before you report for active duty. This early eligibility period may start up to 90 days prior to your reporting date, depending on your orders.

You should be notified of your eligibility when your orders are issued. To verify eligibility for the early benefit, you may check your status on the Guard-Reserve Portal, speak with your unit administrator or call DEERS at 1-800-538-9552. Eligibility is directly related affected by the accuracy of your DEERS information. Please update DEERS with any changes in your duty status, family status or address. We also suggest you do an annual verification at www.tricare.mil/deers/ even if no changes have occurred.

A claim for using your TRICARE benefit can be filed as soon as DEERS shows eligibility. The provider may or may not submit the claim for you. If a claim was declined due to incorrect eligibility, you can contact TriWest for reprocessing once eligibility is updated in DEERS.

You, the Reserve Component member, will not be responsible for cost-shares. Family members who receive covered care will still be responsible for paying a share of the maximum allowable cost under TRICARE Standard/Extra. The costs are dependent upon if the provider is in the TRICARE network. All annual deductibles are currently waived under the TRICARE Reserve Family Demonstration Project if you, the service member have been activated under a contingency program.

If your orders are cancelled prior to reporting for active duty or if you are released before reporting, eligibility for you and your family will end on the order cancellation date.

You have the option of enrolling your family for coverage under the TRICARE Dental Program. As a service member, your TDP coverage will end once you are ordered to active duty for more than 30 days and given the early eligibility benefit. During activation you will have the same benefits as an active duty service member. If you had TDP coverage before activation, you will be automatically re-enrolled upon deactivation.

Your family members are eligible to enroll, or remain enrolled, in the TDP, regardless of the service member's enrollment. Active Duty family members (including activated Guard and Reserve) pay a reduced monthly premium for the TDP. Initial enrollment requires a 12-month commitment, and then continues on a month-to-month basis.

Once you report for active duty, you, the service member, must enroll in TRICARE Prime or Prime Remote. Your family members may be eligible to enroll in either TRICARE Prime or Prime Remote for Active Duty Family Members (TPRADFM) if they meet certain requirements and if all information is accurately updated in the DEERS system. Please visit www.triwest.com or www.tricare.mil for additional information on these programs.

As a Reserve Component (RC) member recently separated from active duty, you need to know about the health care options available to you and your family and the steps needed to keep your coverage uninterrupted.

The Transitional Assistance Management Program (TAMP) allows 180 days of TRICARE coverage following deactivation if you were activated in support of a contingency operation. You may verify eligibility on the guard and Reserve portal at https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/GUard-ReservePortal or by talking to your unit Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) administrator.

It is important to make sure the information in the DEERS system (DEERS) for your family is accurate, since coverage eligibility will depend on this information being up-to-date.

During your Transitional Assistance Management Program (TAMP), you and your family may choose to enroll in the TRICARE Prime if you live in a Prime Service Area (PSA) or you may use the TRICARE Standard or Extra benefit.

If you and your family were enrolled in PRIME immediately prior to your active duty separation date, you may choose to continue PRIME coverage during your TAMP period if you remain in a PRIME Service Area. This requires re-enrolling yourself and your family members. You can check your eligibility and enroll with TriWest Healthcare Alliance at either www.triwest.com or by calling 1-888-TRIWEST.

Prime coverage will be determined by your proximity to or within a Prime Service Area and may not be available in all areas.

If you are recalled to active duty during the TAMP period, you can ensure continuous coverage if your family members re-enroll into TRICARE Prime within 30-days of your return to active duty.

TRICARE Prime Remote benefits are not available under TAMP. You will still be able to receive care under the TRICARE Standard and Extra plans.

For care under the TRICARE Standard or Extra options, there is no need to enroll. This coverage is automatic as soon as your eligibility is updated in DEERS. This coverage also allows you to choose your own doctors. Your cost-shares are dependent on whether your chosen doctor is in the TRICARE network.

Annual deductibles are currently waived through the TRICARE Reserve Family Demonstration Project for Standard and Extra care.

TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) is a premium-based option for continuing coverage after the TAMP period available for some Guard and Reserve members. If you wish to enroll in the TRS program for continuous coverage, the sponsor must send in the TRS request form postmarked no later than 60 days after termination of any other TRICARE coverage.

If done so within the 60-day period, your coverage will begin effective the last day of your active duty (or TAMP) coverage, or the first of the next month if mailed by the last day of the preceding month. For example, I your enrollment application is received with a postmarked date of February 28 with a full month's premium, your coverage will start March 1. However, you may also choose for your coverage to commence April 1.

You can make sure your personal information is up-to-date and verify the eligibility of you and your family through TriWest, through your local uniformed services ID facility or through the Defense Manpower Data Center Support Office (1-800-538-9552). Your coverage will be affected if DEERS is not updated with the latest information.

In striving to ensure all those who serve or have served faithfully in the U.S. Armed services and their families are well cared for, the Department of Defense expanded its health benefits program in 1993, and renamed it TRICARE.

There are numerous parties responsible for making sure you and your family receive the healthcare you need and deserve. The first party is TRICARE Management Activity(TMA), a division within the Department of Defense, is responsible for oversight of the program as well as policy changes for TRICARE. With a vision of ensuring that a world-class health system is provided to its beneficiaries, TMA works with numerous other parties to enhance the TRICARE program.

To assist TMA in ensuring the TRICARE program is being administered properly, a TRICARE Regional Office is established within each of the three United State regions (West, North and South). These three offices operate under the authority, direction and control of TMA, and have visibility of both the contract and direct care assets. The TRICARE Regional Office West (TRO-W) is assigned to the West Region and also oversees the West Region contractor, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, who is responsible for administering your benefits.

TriWest Healthcare Alliance is a Phoenix-based corporation that partners with the Department of Defense to provide access to cost-effective, high-quality health care for 2.8 million members of America's military family in the 21-state TRICARE West Region. If you have question about your health care coverage, feel free to visit www.triwest.com or by calling 1-888-TRIWEST.