A correction from my original post...It may have been under $3K for my wife, but given the care that was required, that's still pretty cheap.
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Your retirement plans . . .
- Thread starter robav8r
- Start date
A correction from my original post...It may have been under $3K for my wife, but given the care that was required, that's still pretty cheap.
Living in South Florida we have opted to utilize TRICARE Prime since we don’t have a MTF. Having a PCM that puts the referrals in and gets them approved is critical. Sometimes it can be a real pain finding a specialist that will accept TRICARE. I did my research for my recent old guy issue (cataract), and if the top three surgeons I found only one accepted TRICARE. Fortunately he was the best of the bunch, and did a great job with the latest equipment. Now I have one bionic eye and one standard issue. Side note, pretty startling how your vision tints (yellow) over your life with your cornea aging.
Overall since retirement I’ve paid next to nothing under TRICARE Prime. Turned out to be a better decision for us.
We are still trying to be to decide “where is the forever home”. Leaning a lot towards a place in Tennessee and keep another in Florida. Time will tell.
Overall since retirement I’ve paid next to nothing under TRICARE Prime. Turned out to be a better decision for us.
We are still trying to be to decide “where is the forever home”. Leaning a lot towards a place in Tennessee and keep another in Florida. Time will tell.
Thanks for the info. Seems like most here like Tricare for retirees. I did check with my doctor and our pediatrician- they both take Tricare so we will drop company insurance next year - with little kids just wanted to be very careful.
If anyone has any other gouge, would like to hear it.
Your kids can keep Tricare until they are 24 or so…an excellent benefit (make sure they are in DEERS).
Is there a big difference between Tricare Prime and Tricare Select for retirees?
The largest difference is that Select allows you to pick your doctors and does not require a referral to see a specialist. Prime is much like having an HMO plan. I use Select and like it, quite a lot.
exNavyOffRec
Well-Known Member
Once they hit 23 the cost even if in college skyrockets.
I now use VA exclusively, but I still have Prime. When I used Prime, I didn't really like it....What I never understood was that if you were under Prime, and you somehow scheduled a specialist appt w/o your primary care manager's authorization, is how Tricare would treat that. I could be totally wrong, but I thought they would bill that as if it was a Select appt???
Please go back and reread my earlier post, as there can be a huge difference depending on your medical needs and local area. Also, you want to double-check with those providers that they specifically take Prime if that's the way you want to go. It's very common that a provider will take Select but not Prime, so you need to specify when asking the office.
Prime can be a great choice if you want to minimize cost and don't have any real medical requirements. For me, the increased cost of Select (over time) outweighed the lack flexibility of Prime in my area.