New Parents: Prime Time for TRICARE

Register your newborn or adopted child in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) as soon as possible. Your child loses all TRICARE eligibility 365 days after birth or adoption unless they are enrolled in DEERS.

You should follow these two simple steps to ensure your child’s eligibility and enroll them in TRICARE Prime:

Step 1 – Ensure Eligibility: Enroll child in DEERS
To register a new child in DEERS,start with one of the following:

• Child’s birth certificate or certificate of live birth
• Adoption papers

File the child’s certificate with a completed DD Form 1172 (Application for Uniformed Services Identification Card and DEERS Enrollment). This form should be notarized if the child does not live with the sponsor.

File these forms with your base personnel office or nearest ID card office. If the sponsor is deployed or TDY, the other parent or guardian should be prepared to show power of attorney to register the child.

Apply for your child's Social Security number by visiting the Social Security Administration Web site or by calling 1-800-772-1213.  Once you receive your child's Social Security number, update their DEERS information.

Step 2 – Enroll eligible child in TRICARE Prime
Once the child is enrolled in DEERS, he or she can be enrolled in Prime. Parents should complete a DD Form 2876 (TRICARE Prime Enrollment Application and PCM Change Form) for the new child and mail the form to the address listed.

If another family member is already enrolled in Prime, TRICARE Prime covers:

• Newborns for 60 days beginning from the date of birth
• Adopted children for 60 days beginning from the effective date of the actual adoption
• Pre-adoptive children for 60 days beginning on the date of placement by the court or approved adoption agency

Well-child care
TRICARE covers care for eligible children up to age six, including:

• Routine newborn care, routine immunizations and comprehensive health promotion and disease prevention exams
• Developmental and behavioral appraisal
• Hearing screenings
• Eye and vision screenings at birth and six months in addition to:
  • TRICARE Prime: one comprehensive eye exam every two years
  • TRICARE Standard and Extra: two comprehensive eye exams between the ages of three and six

To take full advantage of your child’s coverage, you should schedule your newborn's first well-child appointment before you leave the hospital or as soon as possible.