1 00:00:03,359 --> 00:00:06,999 CHRISTIANNE WITTEN: Good afternoon, good morning, and good 2 00:00:06,999 --> 00:00:10,289 evening, everyone. My name is Christianne Witten, and 3 00:00:10,289 --> 00:00:13,679 as I said at the top, I'm the chief of Internal Communications 4 00:00:13,679 --> 00:00:17,039 here at the DHA, and it's a pleasure to be with you and 5 00:00:17,039 --> 00:00:20,359 welcome you to today's webinar on TRICARE 6 00:00:20,359 --> 00:00:23,439 options in retirement. This webinar will 7 00:00:23,439 --> 00:00:26,879 give you an overview of how your TRICARE coverage 8 00:00:26,879 --> 00:00:30,359 changes when you retire. You'll learn about your TRICARE 9 00:00:30,359 --> 00:00:33,679 plan options and what you need to do to avoid a gap in health care 10 00:00:33,909 --> 00:00:37,239 coverage for yourself and your family. 11 00:00:37,239 --> 00:00:40,399 Please note, you can download a copy of today's slides by 12 00:00:40,399 --> 00:00:44,159 going to tricare.mil/webinars. 13 00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:47,399 We'll also post that link in the chat. A recording of today's 14 00:00:47,399 --> 00:00:51,519 presentation will also be posted at a later date on that site. 15 00:00:51,519 --> 00:00:54,839 We're excited to welcome our presenter for today, Ms. Zelly 16 00:00:54,839 --> 00:00:58,239 Zim, senior analyst with TRICARE Policy 17 00:00:58,239 --> 00:01:01,839 and Programs at the Defense Health Agency. Zelly, 18 00:01:01,839 --> 00:01:02,909 I'll turn things over to you. 19 00:01:03,389 --> 00:01:06,409 ZELLY ZIM: Thank you, Christianne. Again, my name is Zelly Zim, 20 00:01:06,409 --> 00:01:09,519 and I'm pleased to join you today. My primary role is the 21 00:01:09,519 --> 00:01:12,529 management of TRICARE Select policy, as well as enrollment policies 22 00:01:12,529 --> 00:01:15,559 as a whole. And I also have a few of my colleagues 23 00:01:15,559 --> 00:01:18,709 joining me, Ms. Shane Pham and Ms. Anne Breslin. During our 24 00:01:18,709 --> 00:01:22,039 conversation today, I hope to equip you to make informed decisions about your 25 00:01:22,039 --> 00:01:25,239 TRICARE options after retirement and ensure 26 00:01:25,239 --> 00:01:28,359 you're aware of when you need to take certain 27 00:01:28,359 --> 00:01:30,669 steps. So, we'll go ahead and get started. Next slide, please. 28 00:01:33,789 --> 00:01:37,319 So, we do have a couple different types of retirement 29 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:40,999 and we'll talk about each of these and how they apply to your TRICARE options. 30 00:01:40,999 --> 00:01:44,119 You do have the active duty retirement, which is on the left side 31 00:01:44,119 --> 00:01:47,279 of your slide, and that applies to our active duty service 32 00:01:47,279 --> 00:01:50,479 members who've completed 20 or more years of active 33 00:01:50,479 --> 00:01:53,799 service, or they are medically retired. And then you have on the right side of 34 00:01:53,799 --> 00:01:57,319 this slide, Reserve retirement. So, that's for National Guard and Reserve 35 00:01:57,319 --> 00:02:00,479 members who have either completed their 20 or more years of 36 00:02:00,479 --> 00:02:02,829 qualifying service by the time they reach age 60, 37 00:02:03,029 --> 00:02:06,159 or if they qualify for retirement pay 38 00:02:06,159 --> 00:02:09,999 before age 60. You might have heard this referred to as our "gray- 39 00:02:09,999 --> 00:02:13,319 area" retirees. The easiest way to think of both of 40 00:02:13,319 --> 00:02:16,879 these categories is just whether or not you're receiving retirement 41 00:02:16,879 --> 00:02:21,399 pay. And if you are, then you are a TRICARE retiree. When we're 42 00:02:21,399 --> 00:02:24,559 thinking about all of this, one of the important things to keep in 43 00:02:24,559 --> 00:02:28,069 mind is Qualifying Life Events, or "QLEs." You'll 44 00:02:28,069 --> 00:02:31,359 hear us use this word a lot in the TRICARE space, and today we're 45 00:02:31,359 --> 00:02:34,759 focusing on retirement as a Qualifying 46 00:02:34,759 --> 00:02:34,909 Life Event. 47 00:02:35,109 --> 00:02:38,279 A Qualifying Life Event opens up a 48 00:02:38,279 --> 00:02:41,559 90-day period for you to make a change 49 00:02:41,559 --> 00:02:45,399 to your enrollment, and that period applies 50 00:02:45,399 --> 00:02:48,519 to both you and to your entire family. So, if you 51 00:02:48,519 --> 00:02:51,949 want more information specifically about QLEs, and the other types of QLEs, 52 00:02:51,949 --> 00:02:54,959 like changes in family composition and 53 00:02:54,959 --> 00:02:58,119 moving and things of that nature, you can visit our website 54 00:02:58,119 --> 00:03:01,399 and go to [tricare.mil/LifeEvents]. But 55 00:03:01,399 --> 00:03:04,519 for today, we'll focus on the retirement Qualifying 56 00:03:04,519 --> 00:03:05,909 Life Event. Next slide, please. 57 00:03:07,859 --> 00:03:11,079 So, what changes after retirement? 58 00:03:11,079 --> 00:03:14,399 What's really important that I want you to take away from this presentation is 59 00:03:14,399 --> 00:03:17,599 that you have to take action to enroll in a TRICARE 60 00:03:17,599 --> 00:03:20,799 plan if you want to continue having TRICARE coverage when you 61 00:03:20,799 --> 00:03:23,959 retire. There is not an automatic process to do 62 00:03:23,959 --> 00:03:27,119 that. And the reason for that is because we want to make sure that you choose 63 00:03:27,119 --> 00:03:30,319 the option that is the best for your family. 64 00:03:30,319 --> 00:03:34,479 Another piece that's important to note is that there are costs associated 65 00:03:34,479 --> 00:03:36,919 for your care, for TRICARE, when you retire. 66 00:03:37,029 --> 00:03:40,279 And we'll go into that a little bit and give you resources to 67 00:03:40,279 --> 00:03:43,629 research that further. And then there are some changes in 68 00:03:43,629 --> 00:03:46,759 what is covered for retirees versus what is covered 69 00:03:46,759 --> 00:03:49,879 when you are on active duty. One of those changes 70 00:03:49,879 --> 00:03:53,159 is that there is not an equivalent program for ECHO, or the 71 00:03:53,159 --> 00:03:56,959 Extended Care Health Option, for retirees. 72 00:03:56,959 --> 00:04:00,159 But if that applies to your family, then you can work with your 73 00:04:00,159 --> 00:04:03,759 primary care manager and your medical team to make sure that that family member 74 00:04:03,759 --> 00:04:06,389 has the requisite care when you retire. 75 00:04:06,469 --> 00:04:09,799 And then another example that I like to give--just because we get questions 76 00:04:09,799 --> 00:04:13,559 about it--is hearing aids and then also for chiropractic 77 00:04:13,559 --> 00:04:16,759 care. Those are two things that are covered on active duty that are not covered for 78 00:04:16,759 --> 00:04:19,989 retirees. Another change that we'll talk about as we go through our 79 00:04:19,989 --> 00:04:23,199 slides today is dental and vision coverage, and 80 00:04:23,199 --> 00:04:26,439 there are changes to that, as well, as retirees. It's 81 00:04:26,439 --> 00:04:30,279 not all one in the same package. So, we'll talk about that. 82 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:30,989 Next slide, please. 83 00:04:32,719 --> 00:04:35,839 So now this checklist looks really simple. 84 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:39,239 We have the TRICARE retirement checklist, and there's only four things here. 85 00:04:39,239 --> 00:04:42,479 I'm going to try to make it as simple as possible, 86 00:04:42,479 --> 00:04:45,639 and these are our four main steps. The first one is update DEERS. 87 00:04:45,639 --> 00:04:48,919 This one's in bold, and it's in red, because I really don't want you to 88 00:04:48,919 --> 00:04:52,679 forget this, and this is the foundation to everything. As you're aware, 89 00:04:52,679 --> 00:04:55,969 DEERS is our Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, and 90 00:04:55,969 --> 00:04:59,199 this is where all your personal information is managed regardless 91 00:04:59,199 --> 00:05:02,359 of your status: active duty or Reservist or retiree 92 00:05:02,359 --> 00:05:02,799 or family member. 93 00:05:03,069 --> 00:05:06,479 DEERS is important when it comes to your eligibility 94 00:05:06,479 --> 00:05:09,589 and to how we can actually contact you. Second on 95 00:05:09,589 --> 00:05:12,879 here, you'll see ID cards. When you retire, you and your 96 00:05:12,879 --> 00:05:16,119 family should go to get new ID cards, and you can do this as soon as 97 00:05:16,119 --> 00:05:19,869 you have your orders in hand. The third thing on your checklist is 98 00:05:19,869 --> 00:05:23,399 researching your plan options, and that can start here with this webinar. 99 00:05:23,399 --> 00:05:26,629 I'm going to give you a lot of resources and hopefully make 100 00:05:26,629 --> 00:05:29,639 sure that you're equipped to make changes and to get 101 00:05:29,639 --> 00:05:33,189 ready for your retirement. There's going to be contact information 102 00:05:33,189 --> 00:05:36,079 for others that can help you with that at the end of this presentation. 103 00:05:36,549 --> 00:05:39,759 And all this culminates in the fourth box on here, which 104 00:05:39,759 --> 00:05:43,079 is enrolling in a health plan. Once you enroll, then 105 00:05:43,079 --> 00:05:46,319 you know you have the coverage that you need, and that's going to apply 106 00:05:46,319 --> 00:05:49,479 to you and your family members. So, we'll go through this presentation 107 00:05:49,479 --> 00:05:54,319 and talk about each one of these in a little bit more depth. Next slide, please. 108 00:05:54,319 --> 00:05:57,479 So, first: updating personal information in DEERS. I just 109 00:05:57,479 --> 00:06:01,869 said this, but there's a whole other slide because this is abundantly important. If your 110 00:06:01,869 --> 00:06:05,159 uniformed service doesn't update your retired status, you can't reenroll 111 00:06:05,159 --> 00:06:08,399 in TRICARE. If you don't have a retired status, then 112 00:06:08,399 --> 00:06:11,559 you don't have that Qualifying Life Event-- or that QLE--that I 113 00:06:11,559 --> 00:06:12,279 mentioned previously. 114 00:06:12,469 --> 00:06:15,719 If you don't have a QLE, you don't have the option to make 115 00:06:15,719 --> 00:06:18,999 health plan changes. If that happens, you would continue to show your 116 00:06:18,999 --> 00:06:22,199 previous status. Once that's rectified, your claims would 117 00:06:22,199 --> 00:06:25,399 need to be adjusted, and you'd have to pay retroactive enrollment 118 00:06:25,399 --> 00:06:28,519 fees. We'll talk about that later, but that is not the situation that 119 00:06:28,519 --> 00:06:31,969 we want you to end up in. We want to make sure that you use that 120 00:06:31,969 --> 00:06:35,279 QLE timeframe in order to enroll in a 121 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:39,119 TRICARE health plan, and having that information in DEERS 122 00:06:39,119 --> 00:06:42,719 is really important. The information that's in DEERS 123 00:06:42,719 --> 00:06:46,159 that's also really important, besides your eligibility, is your contact 124 00:06:46,159 --> 00:06:46,269 information. 125 00:06:46,509 --> 00:06:49,549 Contact information is always going to be 126 00:06:49,549 --> 00:06:52,789 your responsibility, whether we're talking about during retirement or at any 127 00:06:52,789 --> 00:06:56,079 other point afterwards. Without your contact information, we 128 00:06:56,079 --> 00:06:59,639 won't be able to get you important updates about the TRICARE health 129 00:06:59,639 --> 00:07:02,689 plan or about your care in general. So, both 130 00:07:02,689 --> 00:07:05,719 the TRICARE Health Plan and all of the contractors that support the TRICARE 131 00:07:05,719 --> 00:07:08,839 Health Plan use the information in DEERS to contact you. 132 00:07:08,839 --> 00:07:11,999 So, that needs to be your most up-to-date address, phone 133 00:07:11,999 --> 00:07:13,989 number, e-mail-- however you want to be contacted. 134 00:07:14,509 --> 00:07:17,919 When you retire, you and your family members 135 00:07:17,919 --> 00:07:21,079 will go and get new ID cards, and we'll talk a 136 00:07:21,079 --> 00:07:24,199 little bit more about that. But having that new ID card is 137 00:07:24,199 --> 00:07:27,329 the most straightforward way to trigger the verification 138 00:07:27,329 --> 00:07:30,359 that your retired status is really in DEERS. On the right side of 139 00:07:30,359 --> 00:07:33,599 the slide, there's a little bubble about questions, and this kind of 140 00:07:33,599 --> 00:07:37,399 breaks out the two things to remember. So, for eligibility, if 141 00:07:37,399 --> 00:07:40,879 you have issues with that, if it's not reflecting in DEERS that you 142 00:07:40,879 --> 00:07:44,389 are now a retiree, then you go to your uniformed Service's 143 00:07:44,389 --> 00:07:44,869 personnel office. 144 00:07:45,069 --> 00:07:48,279 Whereas, if you have an enrollment question--for example, 145 00:07:48,279 --> 00:07:51,519 "Which plan makes sense for my family?" Or, "I'd like to enroll in a plan, or I need 146 00:07:51,519 --> 00:07:54,679 or change plans"-- those questions are going to come 147 00:07:54,679 --> 00:07:57,959 to the TRICARE Health Plan or your TRICARE contractor. Next 148 00:07:57,959 --> 00:07:58,149 slide, please. 149 00:08:00,189 --> 00:08:03,399 So, we have a great example of an ID 150 00:08:03,399 --> 00:08:06,929 card here. So, getting your new ID card is important. This 151 00:08:06,929 --> 00:08:10,159 is the second thing that's on that checklist of only four items. 152 00:08:10,159 --> 00:08:13,319 We talked about updating DEERS and now we're talking about the ID 153 00:08:13,319 --> 00:08:16,449 cards. And your entire family is going to need new ID cards 154 00:08:16,449 --> 00:08:19,649 because we have to make sure that the information on their ID card 155 00:08:19,649 --> 00:08:22,679 is tied to the correct sponsor with the correct status. So just 156 00:08:22,679 --> 00:08:25,879 make sure your entire family does this as well. And you can take your ID card 157 00:08:25,879 --> 00:08:29,119 with you whenever you're going to get care or you're picking up prescriptions. 158 00:08:29,229 --> 00:08:32,599 And that's going to be where you're sure that 159 00:08:32,599 --> 00:08:35,949 everything is reflecting correctly, and it's tied to the correct 160 00:08:35,949 --> 00:08:40,399 benefits number. There's information on this slide as well 161 00:08:40,399 --> 00:08:43,479 on finding an ID card office and what information you'll need to bring 162 00:08:43,479 --> 00:08:46,749 with you when you go ahead and do that. Next slide, please. 163 00:08:48,429 --> 00:08:51,599 So, now we're kind of moving into the third part of our checklist, 164 00:08:51,599 --> 00:08:54,639 which is doing the requisite research to make sure 165 00:08:54,639 --> 00:08:57,839 you know which plan to choose. I'm going to start on this slide talking 166 00:08:57,839 --> 00:09:01,119 about active duty options, and then we'll move into 167 00:09:01,119 --> 00:09:04,399 our options for Reservists and National Guard. 168 00:09:04,399 --> 00:09:07,559 However, the different plan types that I'm talking about are the same. What's going 169 00:09:07,559 --> 00:09:10,719 to change is at what point you're eligible for 170 00:09:10,719 --> 00:09:14,039 them. So, if we start here on the left 171 00:09:14,039 --> 00:09:17,559 side for before age 65, you have TRICARE 172 00:09:17,559 --> 00:09:20,509 Prime, and that is an option if you live in a Prime Service Area. 173 00:09:20,909 --> 00:09:24,149 You have the US Family Health Plan, which is 174 00:09:24,149 --> 00:09:27,439 similar to Prime, and it's only in certain areas stateside. Then 175 00:09:27,439 --> 00:09:30,719 you have TRICARE Select, which doesn't put any bounds on 176 00:09:30,719 --> 00:09:34,159 where you can live, and you do not have to have a primary care 177 00:09:34,159 --> 00:09:37,439 manager. We have TRICARE Select Overseas, which is the only 178 00:09:37,439 --> 00:09:40,559 option for retirees if they're living overseas. And then 179 00:09:40,559 --> 00:09:44,119 you have TRICARE For Life, which becomes an option when you're entitled to 180 00:09:44,119 --> 00:09:47,599 Medicare Part A and you are paying for Medicare Part B. 181 00:09:47,599 --> 00:09:50,589 TRICARE for Life may be an option earlier than age 65 182 00:09:50,659 --> 00:09:54,069 if you are eligible for Medicare Part A and are paying for 183 00:09:54,069 --> 00:09:57,099 Medicare Part B before age 65. And then 184 00:09:57,099 --> 00:10:00,349 TRICARE Plus is a no-cost option for all 185 00:10:00,349 --> 00:10:03,509 of your care within the MTF and no care in 186 00:10:03,509 --> 00:10:06,749 the private sector. But that is limited 187 00:10:06,749 --> 00:10:09,819 availability because that is based on the MTF 188 00:10:09,819 --> 00:10:12,829 and their capacity. For ages 65 189 00:10:12,829 --> 00:10:16,109 and up, there's just one option for our active duty service members, 190 00:10:16,109 --> 00:10:19,549 and this is going to be the case for our 191 00:10:19,549 --> 00:10:22,669 Reservist and National Guard retirees as well, and that's 192 00:10:22,669 --> 00:10:23,739 TRICARE For Life. Again, 193 00:10:24,059 --> 00:10:27,279 that's if you are entitled to 194 00:10:27,279 --> 00:10:30,619 Part A based off of your age being age 65, 195 00:10:30,619 --> 00:10:34,069 and you have Medicare Part B at that 196 00:10:34,069 --> 00:10:37,349 point. So, one thing I just want to stress on this slide is that we have 197 00:10:37,349 --> 00:10:40,749 to make sure to remind you that your retiree 198 00:10:40,749 --> 00:10:44,309 family members must also have Part 199 00:10:44,309 --> 00:10:47,749 A and be paying for Part B to remain eligible for 200 00:10:47,749 --> 00:10:51,069 TRICARE. Your Medicare eligibility is individual; 201 00:10:51,069 --> 00:10:53,419 it is not just the sponsor that needs to be 202 00:10:54,309 --> 00:10:56,149 enrolled into the proper plan. 203 00:10:57,779 --> 00:10:58,859 Next slide, please. 204 00:11:00,749 --> 00:11:04,069 So now, looking at the health plan options 205 00:11:04,069 --> 00:11:08,229 for the National Guard and Reserve. The types of options I talked about, 206 00:11:08,229 --> 00:11:11,629 you'll see in the middle of this slide, on the far right of this slide 207 00:11:11,629 --> 00:11:15,189 for age 60 through 64 and age 65 and up. Those are all 208 00:11:15,189 --> 00:11:18,229 plan types that I've mentioned. And don't worry, we'll talk about each one of those in 209 00:11:18,229 --> 00:11:21,269 a little bit more depth, but the new one that's 210 00:11:21,269 --> 00:11:24,509 on this slide is the "before age 60" piece. 211 00:11:24,509 --> 00:11:27,749 So, Reserve Retirement applies to our National Guard and Reserve members 212 00:11:27,749 --> 00:11:31,109 who completed 20 or more years of qualifying service, as we mentioned before. 213 00:11:31,419 --> 00:11:34,709 And they're eligible for Reserve Retirement when they 214 00:11:34,709 --> 00:11:37,989 reach age 60 or earlier, depending on whether you've completed 215 00:11:37,989 --> 00:11:41,229 any active duty days. And that must be reflected in DEERS by your 216 00:11:41,229 --> 00:11:44,629 service. So, as an example, if you completed 217 00:11:44,629 --> 00:11:48,269 enough active duty days and your Reserve Retirement actually happened at 218 00:11:48,269 --> 00:11:51,429 age 58, then at age 58 you would be 219 00:11:51,429 --> 00:11:54,879 eligible for TRICARE Retired Reserve, as it shows here. 220 00:11:54,879 --> 00:11:58,469 So TRICARE Retired Reserve, or TRR, provides comprehensive 221 00:11:58,469 --> 00:12:01,709 health care coverage so that you do not have to wait until 222 00:12:01,709 --> 00:12:02,139 age 60 223 00:12:02,339 --> 00:12:05,629 and begin drawing retired pay to purchase 224 00:12:05,629 --> 00:12:09,149 the plan. Because you can see any provider with this 225 00:12:09,149 --> 00:12:12,349 plan, you don't have to change providers if you already have one. 226 00:12:12,349 --> 00:12:15,589 And then once you reach age 60, you can choose 227 00:12:15,589 --> 00:12:18,619 from the other plans on this page until age 65, 228 00:12:18,619 --> 00:12:22,669 when you would then transition over to TRICARE For Life. 229 00:12:22,669 --> 00:12:23,419 Next slide, please. 230 00:12:25,649 --> 00:12:28,989 So, going back to our active duty 231 00:12:28,989 --> 00:12:32,149 population, there's a question about when you 232 00:12:32,149 --> 00:12:35,269 need to enroll. So, that's what's different about being 233 00:12:35,269 --> 00:12:38,509 a retiree, is that you do need to take action to enroll in a 234 00:12:38,509 --> 00:12:41,679 plan. As I've mentioned in passing at the beginning, retirement 235 00:12:41,679 --> 00:12:44,989 is a QLE, or a Qualifying Life Event. That means that 236 00:12:44,989 --> 00:12:48,549 you can make a change within 90 days of your retirement date, and 237 00:12:48,549 --> 00:12:51,709 you can make that change when you are on terminal leave. 238 00:12:51,709 --> 00:12:54,909 We would love for you to make that change within 90 days because then 239 00:12:54,909 --> 00:12:56,309 there is no gap in coverage 240 00:12:56,459 --> 00:12:59,709 between whatever health plan you have while you're 241 00:12:59,709 --> 00:13:02,909 on active duty -- so, if you're the service member, on TRICARE Prime -- and 242 00:13:02,909 --> 00:13:06,389 whatever you choose for your retirement 243 00:13:06,389 --> 00:13:09,589 piece. The effective date of your coverage will be your retirement 244 00:13:09,589 --> 00:13:12,749 date itself. Now, if you don't enroll in a health 245 00:13:12,749 --> 00:13:15,989 plan within 90 days, there is a 246 00:13:15,989 --> 00:13:19,229 "grace period," we'll call it. There's a retroactive enrollment period for 247 00:13:19,229 --> 00:13:22,469 up to 12 months. If we go to the next slide, I'll show you 248 00:13:22,469 --> 00:13:25,709 a little graphic to kind of help understand 249 00:13:25,709 --> 00:13:26,069 this. 250 00:13:26,539 --> 00:13:29,829 We have a 90-day QLE period. We want you to make 251 00:13:29,829 --> 00:13:33,389 that change within the 90 days so that you do not have a gap in coverage. However, 252 00:13:33,389 --> 00:13:36,549 we do know that there are a lot of changes that are happening. You 253 00:13:36,549 --> 00:13:40,139 could be moving, you're changing jobs for 254 00:13:40,139 --> 00:13:43,629 certain, and you might be having a lot of different moving pieces at 255 00:13:43,629 --> 00:13:46,709 that point when you're retiring. So, because of 256 00:13:46,709 --> 00:13:49,749 that, there's a 12-month retroactive enrollment 257 00:13:49,749 --> 00:13:52,909 period, from the date of your retirement, where you 258 00:13:52,909 --> 00:13:56,109 can still enroll in a TRICARE health plan. The difference here, though, 259 00:13:56,109 --> 00:13:56,509 is that 260 00:13:56,699 --> 00:13:59,749 during that period, up until you actually call back 261 00:13:59,749 --> 00:14:03,149 and say, "I need 262 00:14:03,149 --> 00:14:06,909 to activate my TRICARE retiree 263 00:14:06,909 --> 00:14:10,509 plan," you would then be paying for all of your care up front. 264 00:14:10,509 --> 00:14:14,309 And then, now that it's retroactive, you 265 00:14:14,309 --> 00:14:17,339 would then submit all of your claims so that TRICARE can 266 00:14:17,339 --> 00:14:20,509 go and pay those. So, it's an extra step for you, 267 00:14:20,509 --> 00:14:23,629 but it does give you the option to make sure that you are 268 00:14:23,629 --> 00:14:25,979 covered during that year if you missed the 90-day window. 269 00:14:26,859 --> 00:14:30,229 If you fall outside of that 12-month window, 270 00:14:30,229 --> 00:14:33,399 you'll find yourself in direct care only status, which means that 271 00:14:33,399 --> 00:14:37,269 there is no coverage in the private sector that's paid for 272 00:14:37,269 --> 00:14:40,669 by the TRICARE Health Plan, and the only care that you would be able 273 00:14:40,669 --> 00:14:44,549 to receive is when space is available at the 274 00:14:44,549 --> 00:14:48,149 MTF. So, we just want to make sure that we're focused 275 00:14:48,149 --> 00:14:51,669 in on the QLE, the 90-day 276 00:14:51,669 --> 00:14:54,909 period, and then as a safety net all the way 277 00:14:54,909 --> 00:14:56,179 up to that 12-month period. 278 00:14:57,049 --> 00:15:00,349 If you missed this period, then the other option that 279 00:15:00,349 --> 00:15:03,909 you have is only to enroll again during an open season-- 280 00:15:03,909 --> 00:15:07,069 those are the fall of each year-- or after another one 281 00:15:07,069 --> 00:15:09,129 of the QLEs. Next slide, please. 282 00:15:11,429 --> 00:15:14,949 So now, in terms of timeline for my 283 00:15:14,949 --> 00:15:18,189 National Guard and Reservists, when you reach age 60: If you're 284 00:15:18,189 --> 00:15:21,229 retiring before age 60, that's that period where you 285 00:15:21,229 --> 00:15:24,999 would be eligible for the TRICARE Retired Reserve, or TRR. 286 00:15:24,999 --> 00:15:28,509 TRR has what we call "continuous open enrollment," which means you can purchase 287 00:15:28,509 --> 00:15:31,109 it at any time. There's not a specific timeframe for that. 288 00:15:31,739 --> 00:15:35,509 But to make sure that you don't have a break in coverage, 289 00:15:35,509 --> 00:15:39,149 it's best to transfer within 90 290 00:15:39,149 --> 00:15:42,229 days. That way, same as with the active duty 291 00:15:42,229 --> 00:15:46,429 service members, you won't have a break in your coverage between TRR 292 00:15:46,429 --> 00:15:49,709 and whichever retiree plan you choose. One thing that 293 00:15:49,709 --> 00:15:52,909 is also different about TRR is the very first premium 294 00:15:52,909 --> 00:15:56,749 payment that you make is a two-month payment up front, and 295 00:15:56,749 --> 00:16:00,189 that goes with your enrollment request. The TRICARE 296 00:16:00,189 --> 00:16:02,939 Retired Reserve plan is a premium-based plan, 297 00:16:03,259 --> 00:16:06,309 and so that's also an important thing to consider when 298 00:16:06,309 --> 00:16:09,549 you're looking at the costs and the fees that we do have posted 299 00:16:09,549 --> 00:16:12,949 on our website for each of the types of 300 00:16:12,949 --> 00:16:16,789 plans. Next slide, please. So, if you're a National 301 00:16:16,789 --> 00:16:19,829 Guard or Reservist and you are age 302 00:16:19,829 --> 00:16:23,319 60, you can enroll in TRICARE Prime or Select, as opposed to 303 00:16:23,319 --> 00:16:26,439 TRR that we were just talking about, within 90 days of 304 00:16:26,439 --> 00:16:29,629 turning age 60. So, age 60 becomes your QLE. That becomes 305 00:16:29,629 --> 00:16:32,669 your Qualifying Life Event. And you'll receive 306 00:16:32,669 --> 00:16:33,659 information from your service, 307 00:16:33,939 --> 00:16:37,109 usually called your "Notification of Eligibility for Retired 308 00:16:37,109 --> 00:16:40,229 Pay at Age 60" letter and 309 00:16:40,229 --> 00:16:43,299 often known as a "20-year letter." You'll be 310 00:16:43,299 --> 00:16:46,389 drawing your retirement pay, and that 311 00:16:46,389 --> 00:16:50,509 eligibility is going to be reflected in DEERS. 312 00:16:50,509 --> 00:16:54,149 And again, you do have a period of retroactive enrollment up to 313 00:16:54,149 --> 00:16:57,269 12 months after you turn age 60. But again, we'd like 314 00:16:57,269 --> 00:17:00,509 to stay within that 90-day period so that you don't have any gap in 315 00:17:00,509 --> 00:17:03,499 coverage and so that you don't have to take the extra step to request 316 00:17:03,819 --> 00:17:06,859 your fees and your 317 00:17:06,859 --> 00:17:12,069 claims to be reprocessed underneath the TRICARE plan of your choosing. Next 318 00:17:12,069 --> 00:17:12,459 slide, please. 319 00:17:14,269 --> 00:17:17,309 So, of course it might not just be you, 320 00:17:17,309 --> 00:17:20,589 it's also your family members that are going through this change for retirement. 321 00:17:20,589 --> 00:17:24,069 And so, we want to make sure that you think about how 322 00:17:24,069 --> 00:17:27,309 your retirement can affect your family members' coverage. Their 323 00:17:27,309 --> 00:17:30,509 coverage is based on the sponsor's status, their location, 324 00:17:30,509 --> 00:17:34,229 the family member's age, and if the [family] member is 325 00:17:34,229 --> 00:17:35,949 entitled to Medicare. 326 00:17:36,619 --> 00:17:39,869 Another thing is that you'll have the opportunity for 327 00:17:39,869 --> 00:17:43,149 split enrollment, which means that not everyone in your family needs 328 00:17:43,149 --> 00:17:47,479 to be in the same plan. So as an example, you could 329 00:17:47,479 --> 00:17:50,669 have one person who is in TRICARE Prime, 330 00:17:50,669 --> 00:17:53,869 the spouse who's in TRICARE Select, and then 331 00:17:53,869 --> 00:17:57,109 a young adult child who's in TYA, or TRICARE 332 00:17:57,109 --> 00:18:00,309 Young Adult Prime, because they live in a Prime Service Area, and 333 00:18:00,309 --> 00:18:03,509 another young adult who's in TYA Select because they don't live in 334 00:18:03,509 --> 00:18:06,869 a Prime Service Area. You can mix and 335 00:18:06,869 --> 00:18:08,819 match that however is best for your family. 336 00:18:09,019 --> 00:18:12,069 And there are some tools here on the right side that are going to 337 00:18:12,069 --> 00:18:15,179 be very helpful to you. The Plan Finder allows you to put 338 00:18:15,179 --> 00:18:18,429 in your ZIP code, and you can put in your sponsor status 339 00:18:18,429 --> 00:18:21,909 and find out what options are available in your area. 340 00:18:21,909 --> 00:18:25,059 And then if you want more information about the Qualifying 341 00:18:25,059 --> 00:18:28,669 Life Event of your child becoming an adult (turning 342 00:18:28,669 --> 00:18:31,859 age 21), and then also for TRICARE For 343 00:18:31,859 --> 00:18:34,989 Life, the links are also on this slide for all of this. 344 00:18:34,989 --> 00:18:38,309 And as a reminder, these slides are going to be 345 00:18:38,309 --> 00:18:40,509 posted and there's also going to be a recording 346 00:18:40,939 --> 00:18:43,949 of this presentation, so you don't have to scramble 347 00:18:43,949 --> 00:18:46,019 to write all of these things down. Next slide, please. 348 00:18:47,789 --> 00:18:51,309 So, now let's talk about the different plans themselves. So 349 00:18:51,309 --> 00:18:55,149 TRICARE Prime, you might have heard me 350 00:18:55,149 --> 00:18:58,509 mention a "PSA," or Prime Service Area. You have to 351 00:18:58,509 --> 00:19:01,789 live within a Prime Service Area, because 352 00:19:01,789 --> 00:19:04,989 Prime is generally featuring the use of our military hospitals and 353 00:19:04,989 --> 00:19:08,429 clinics. When you have TRICARE Prime, you also have 354 00:19:08,429 --> 00:19:10,109 a "PCM," or a primary care manager. 355 00:19:10,379 --> 00:19:13,589 That's the one that's coordinating your care. And for 356 00:19:13,589 --> 00:19:16,949 our retirees, TRICARE Prime has enrollment fee copays (which are 357 00:19:16,949 --> 00:19:20,029 also called cost-shares), and those are for the covered health 358 00:19:20,029 --> 00:19:23,309 care services from your network providers. When you follow the 359 00:19:23,309 --> 00:19:26,829 rules of the TRICARE Prime plan, your out-of-pocket 360 00:19:26,829 --> 00:19:30,059 costs are limited to your catastrophic cap. 361 00:19:30,059 --> 00:19:33,469 The costs you pay under the point-of-service option don't 362 00:19:33,469 --> 00:19:36,989 apply towards your catastrophic cap. When I say "point-of-service," I'm referring 363 00:19:36,989 --> 00:19:40,029 to non-emergency care from any TRICARE-authorized 364 00:19:40,029 --> 00:19:43,259 civilian provider that's in or out of the network if you don't have a 365 00:19:43,259 --> 00:19:44,259 referral. So essentially, 366 00:19:44,459 --> 00:19:48,309 if you don't have referral and you go receive care, 367 00:19:48,309 --> 00:19:51,549 the money that you pay there does not apply to your catastrophic 368 00:19:51,549 --> 00:19:54,749 cap. So in order to maximize that catastrophic cap, you want to make sure that 369 00:19:54,749 --> 00:19:57,869 you're getting your referral and that you're visiting 370 00:19:57,869 --> 00:20:01,109 in-network providers. You can only contribute towards your 371 00:20:01,109 --> 00:20:04,669 catastrophic cap with those copayments to such providers. 372 00:20:04,669 --> 00:20:08,099 Another thing to consider as well is that there's no deductible with 373 00:20:08,099 --> 00:20:11,709 TRICARE Prime. In terms of the cost for TRICARE 374 00:20:11,709 --> 00:20:13,699 Prime, there is a yearly enrollment fee. 375 00:20:14,219 --> 00:20:17,509 And then, as I mentioned, we do have the copayments, 376 00:20:17,509 --> 00:20:20,709 and then point-of-service is going to apply if you 377 00:20:20,709 --> 00:20:23,829 are seeking care and you do not have a referral. 378 00:20:23,829 --> 00:20:26,949 So, my big takeaway from this slide is: You need a referral, you would 379 00:20:26,949 --> 00:20:30,189 have a PCM, you need to live in a PSA, and you 380 00:20:30,189 --> 00:20:34,709 don't have a deductible. You want to make sure that you're prioritizing 381 00:20:34,709 --> 00:20:37,879 your referral and getting care in the network. Another piece 382 00:20:37,879 --> 00:20:40,909 about TRICARE Prime, just to highlight the last bullet on the left 383 00:20:40,909 --> 00:20:44,179 side here, talks about routine eye care. 384 00:20:44,379 --> 00:20:47,909 TRICARE Prime does include one 385 00:20:47,909 --> 00:20:51,429 eye exam every two years, and that is something that is different from 386 00:20:51,429 --> 00:20:54,709 TRICARE Prime and TRICARE Select. So, just wanted to make sure that we called 387 00:20:54,709 --> 00:20:58,109 that out. Next slide, 388 00:20:58,109 --> 00:21:01,319 please. So, next is the US Family Health Plan, or 389 00:21:01,319 --> 00:21:04,339 USFHP, and this is a special case of Prime. 390 00:21:04,339 --> 00:21:08,149 It's a Prime-like option, and it's available in certain areas. In the same 391 00:21:08,149 --> 00:21:11,549 way that we talk about how TRICARE Prime is available 392 00:21:11,549 --> 00:21:13,979 in Prime Service Areas, USFHP is available 393 00:21:14,869 --> 00:21:15,789 in specific areas 394 00:21:15,979 --> 00:21:19,389 within the United States. So, the map on your right, you 395 00:21:19,389 --> 00:21:22,789 can see where those areas are for the most part. We have New 396 00:21:22,789 --> 00:21:25,949 England and then the D.C., Maryland, Virginia area, and 397 00:21:25,949 --> 00:21:29,149 then down south in Texas, Louisiana-- Corpus Christi area 398 00:21:29,149 --> 00:21:32,469 generally--and then over in the Seattle, Puget Sound area over 399 00:21:32,469 --> 00:21:35,589 on the West Coast. So, you'd have to live in one 400 00:21:35,589 --> 00:21:38,789 of those service areas for the US Family Health Plan to be 401 00:21:38,789 --> 00:21:41,909 an option. But in terms of how it works, it looks like 402 00:21:41,909 --> 00:21:45,509 TRICARE Prime: the fees and the costs, the copayments, the 403 00:21:45,509 --> 00:21:49,149 fact that there is no deductible, the fact that it has a yearly enrollment fee. All 404 00:21:49,149 --> 00:21:52,339 of those things are the same for the US Family Health Plan. 405 00:21:52,859 --> 00:21:55,869 One thing that's important to note about the US Family Health Plan 406 00:21:55,869 --> 00:21:59,069 is that you cannot get care at a military hospital or 407 00:21:59,069 --> 00:22:02,349 clinic or use the TRICARE 408 00:22:02,349 --> 00:22:05,499 Pharmacy Program if you have USFHP. The 409 00:22:05,499 --> 00:22:09,069 USFHP-designated providers have similar 410 00:22:09,069 --> 00:22:12,189 plans. So even though you cannot use Express Scripts, for example, 411 00:22:12,189 --> 00:22:15,469 they have something similar that you can use as well, and you will use 412 00:22:15,469 --> 00:22:18,629 all of their providers comprehensively. 413 00:22:18,629 --> 00:22:21,709 So that's just a consideration with the US Family Health Plan. And 414 00:22:21,709 --> 00:22:25,069 the website to learn more about that is also on this page 415 00:22:25,069 --> 00:22:25,219 as well. 416 00:22:26,359 --> 00:22:27,279 Next slide, please. 417 00:22:29,099 --> 00:22:32,539 So, TRICARE Select and TRICARE Retired Reserve. 418 00:22:32,539 --> 00:22:35,739 These are together because they work similarly, 419 00:22:35,739 --> 00:22:39,259 even though the costs and the fees are a little bit different. But in contrast 420 00:22:39,259 --> 00:22:42,459 to the TRICARE Prime options we just discussed, TRICARE Select allows 421 00:22:42,459 --> 00:22:45,659 you to choose your own TRICARE-authorized provider, rather 422 00:22:45,659 --> 00:22:49,179 than having a primary care manager. 423 00:22:49,179 --> 00:22:52,379 Further, you don't have to live within a PSA. You can live wherever. 424 00:22:52,379 --> 00:22:55,859 So, in general, TRICARE Select has higher out-of-pocket costs than 425 00:22:55,859 --> 00:22:56,539 TRICARE Prime does. 426 00:22:56,929 --> 00:23:00,219 And with TRICARE Select, there's also an annual deductible for 427 00:23:00,219 --> 00:23:03,379 TRICARE covered services. Remember that TRICARE Prime did 428 00:23:03,379 --> 00:23:06,979 not have a deductible. Your deductibles for Select are determined on a 429 00:23:06,979 --> 00:23:10,139 calendar year basis, and those are the allowable 430 00:23:10,139 --> 00:23:13,269 costs or charges for a covered outpatient service 431 00:23:13,269 --> 00:23:16,459 or a covered supply. So, with TRICARE 432 00:23:16,459 --> 00:23:19,779 Select, after your deductible is met, you then pay per-visit 433 00:23:19,779 --> 00:23:22,849 copayments, and then your total out-of-pocket costs are limited 434 00:23:22,849 --> 00:23:24,009 to your catastrophic cap. 435 00:23:24,689 --> 00:23:27,699 So, kind of similar to 436 00:23:27,699 --> 00:23:31,209 that, but a little bit different is TRR. So, TRICARE Retired Reserve 437 00:23:31,209 --> 00:23:34,459 is a premium-based plan, but the facts of 438 00:23:34,459 --> 00:23:37,699 it, such as choosing where you live and choosing your provider, those parts 439 00:23:37,699 --> 00:23:40,929 of it mirror TRICARE Select. Another premium plan that I 440 00:23:40,929 --> 00:23:44,139 want to mention quickly, while we're on this slide, is 441 00:23:44,139 --> 00:23:47,259 TYA or TRICARE Young Adult, as that might be applicable to some of 442 00:23:47,259 --> 00:23:50,499 your family members. Your beneficiaries who are eligible under 443 00:23:50,499 --> 00:23:53,699 that plan have the option to enroll in Prime or Select 444 00:23:53,699 --> 00:23:54,779 depending on where they live 445 00:23:55,049 --> 00:23:58,179 and their preference for having 446 00:23:58,179 --> 00:24:01,289 a PCM or having self-managed care. And as I mentioned 447 00:24:01,289 --> 00:24:04,859 earlier, if you need more information about TRICARE Young Adult, please 448 00:24:04,859 --> 00:24:08,299 visit the tricare.mil/tya 449 00:24:08,299 --> 00:24:11,619 website. So, the two big cost differences between Prime 450 00:24:11,619 --> 00:24:14,809 and Select are as follows: TRICARE Select ends up 451 00:24:14,809 --> 00:24:17,989 with higher out-of-pocket costs, and that's primarily because Select 452 00:24:17,989 --> 00:24:21,219 has a deductible. You're paying for the ability to choose where you get 453 00:24:21,219 --> 00:24:25,209 your care. Select is most similar to the private sector PPO option, 454 00:24:25,329 --> 00:24:29,659 while Prime is more similar to a private sector HMO option. 455 00:24:29,659 --> 00:24:32,779 Another big differentiation between Prime and Select is the location 456 00:24:32,779 --> 00:24:36,019 requirements. So, for Prime, you must live within a PSA, 457 00:24:36,019 --> 00:24:39,219 and for USFHP, you have to live in one of their specific 458 00:24:39,219 --> 00:24:42,369 coverage areas. And then for TRICARE Select, you can live 459 00:24:42,369 --> 00:24:45,899 wherever, including overseas. So, speaking of living wherever, 460 00:24:45,899 --> 00:24:49,379 what happens if you live overseas as a retiree? For 461 00:24:49,379 --> 00:24:52,659 our retirees overseas, you have the option of TRICARE Select 462 00:24:52,659 --> 00:24:55,779 Overseas. It's the same as TRICARE Select. You have a network of 463 00:24:55,779 --> 00:24:59,059 TRICARE-authorized providers, and you maintain the ability to choose 464 00:24:59,059 --> 00:24:59,809 your own providers. 465 00:25:00,129 --> 00:25:03,819 You have a deductible, you have cost shares, you have a catastrophic cap, 466 00:25:03,819 --> 00:25:07,379 you have enrollment fees. The main difference is that for Select 467 00:25:07,379 --> 00:25:10,539 Overseas, you should expect to pay up front for care and 468 00:25:10,539 --> 00:25:15,099 then file your own claims to get the money back, whereas when you are 469 00:25:15,099 --> 00:25:18,619 stateside with TRICARE Select, all of your bills go to TRICARE 470 00:25:18,619 --> 00:25:22,659 first as opposed to on the back end. And just remember that 471 00:25:22,659 --> 00:25:26,249 TRICARE Prime Overseas is not available to retirees and 472 00:25:26,249 --> 00:25:29,819 their family members. Neither is TRICARE Prime 473 00:25:29,819 --> 00:25:30,859 Remote Overseas, 474 00:25:31,009 --> 00:25:34,339 or even stateside TRICARE Prime Remote. Just a 475 00:25:34,339 --> 00:25:36,369 couple more things on that. Next slide, please. 476 00:25:38,179 --> 00:25:41,259 So, we're finally to the last thing on 477 00:25:41,259 --> 00:25:44,419 our checklist. We talked about DEERS. We talked about ID 478 00:25:44,419 --> 00:25:47,699 cards, we talked about researching the plans, and now we're talking about how 479 00:25:47,699 --> 00:25:50,859 do we actually enroll? Here are your options for enrolling in a 480 00:25:50,859 --> 00:25:54,099 TRICARE health plan. You can do it online, you can do it on 481 00:25:54,099 --> 00:25:57,299 the phone, you can do it by mail, and if you're overseas, you can even walk in 482 00:25:57,299 --> 00:25:59,859 and do it in person. So, all those options are here. 483 00:26:00,249 --> 00:26:03,409 And we are also coming up on an open 484 00:26:03,409 --> 00:26:06,579 enrollment season later in the fall as well, and so 485 00:26:06,579 --> 00:26:10,029 those options are going to be the same whether you are enrolling due 486 00:26:10,029 --> 00:26:13,299 to a Qualifying Life Event (like retirement) or due to the fact that 487 00:26:13,299 --> 00:26:16,579 we are in an open season period. Next 488 00:26:16,579 --> 00:26:19,779 slide, please. So now: TRICARE For Life. You'll 489 00:26:19,779 --> 00:26:23,619 notice that I didn't mention it before, because I was discussing enrollment and 490 00:26:23,619 --> 00:26:26,739 that's because TRICARE For Life does not require you to take the same 491 00:26:26,739 --> 00:26:30,259 enrollment steps that we've been going over. TRICARE For Life is best 492 00:26:30,259 --> 00:26:33,819 defined as "Medicare-wraparound" coverage, and this means that TRICARE 493 00:26:33,819 --> 00:26:35,569 is the secondary payer to Medicare. 494 00:26:35,889 --> 00:26:39,099 TRICARE For Life is actually an option before age 65 495 00:26:39,099 --> 00:26:42,259 if you have both Medicare Part A and are paying for Medicare 496 00:26:42,259 --> 00:26:45,459 Part B. And as a reminder, Medicare Part A usually 497 00:26:45,459 --> 00:26:48,579 doesn't have a premium if you've paid into your Medicare 498 00:26:48,579 --> 00:26:52,329 taxes. And then Medicare Part A is your hospital insurance, 499 00:26:52,329 --> 00:26:55,849 while Medicare Part B is your medical insurance that covers services 500 00:26:55,849 --> 00:26:59,659 like your outpatient care, your doctor's appointments, and preventive 501 00:26:59,659 --> 00:27:03,099 care. Your entitlement or your eligibility for Medicare is outside of TRICARE's 502 00:27:03,099 --> 00:27:06,419 scope, but based on that eligibility and the 503 00:27:06,419 --> 00:27:09,739 services that you're paying for through Medicare, TRICARE For Life is the 504 00:27:09,739 --> 00:27:10,489 military entitlement 505 00:27:10,609 --> 00:27:13,979 that can assist with covering your medical costs. You 506 00:27:13,979 --> 00:27:17,179 need to purchase and be enrolled in Medicare Part B in order 507 00:27:17,179 --> 00:27:20,259 to be eligible for TRICARE For Life. If you don't 508 00:27:20,259 --> 00:27:23,539 enroll in Medicare Part B, you lose your TRICARE coverage as 509 00:27:23,539 --> 00:27:26,739 a secondary payer, unless you're still working and you're covered 510 00:27:26,739 --> 00:27:29,939 under another employer health plan. TRICARE For Life is 511 00:27:29,939 --> 00:27:33,099 always going to be a secondary payer and, unlike TRICARE Prime 512 00:27:33,099 --> 00:27:36,619 and Select, TRICARE For Life does not have enrollment fees. 513 00:27:36,619 --> 00:27:39,769 That's because you're paying for Medicare. If the care is covered by 514 00:27:39,769 --> 00:27:40,929 TRICARE but not Medicare, 515 00:27:41,169 --> 00:27:45,019 you'll pay the TRICARE For Life deductible and cost-shares. 516 00:27:45,019 --> 00:27:48,899 If the care isn't covered by Medicare or TRICARE, then 517 00:27:48,899 --> 00:27:52,659 you'll pay the entire amount. There's more information 518 00:27:52,659 --> 00:27:56,059 about the costs on our website. One of 519 00:27:56,059 --> 00:27:59,139 the websites that's on here is tricare.mil/tfl, and 520 00:27:59,139 --> 00:28:02,259 there's also tricare.mil/TFLcosts, 521 00:28:02,259 --> 00:28:05,539 and that website has a matrix that breaks down the cost for 522 00:28:05,539 --> 00:28:08,739 you, to show you what happens when TRICARE is paying, when 523 00:28:08,739 --> 00:28:10,329 Medicare is paying, and when they're both paying. 524 00:28:11,559 --> 00:28:14,619 And just as another piece on this one, just as a reminder, 525 00:28:14,619 --> 00:28:17,699 you will have out-of-pocket expenses 526 00:28:17,699 --> 00:28:20,979 if you are receiving care that is not covered by 527 00:28:20,979 --> 00:28:24,539 Medicare nor TRICARE. So, we want to prioritize making 528 00:28:24,539 --> 00:28:27,659 sure that you do have your Medicare Part A and 529 00:28:27,659 --> 00:28:30,859 are paying for Medicare Part B in order to take advantage of your 530 00:28:30,859 --> 00:28:33,919 entitlement for TRICARE For Life. Next slide, please. 531 00:28:39,519 --> 00:28:43,779 So, maintaining or changing your health care coverage: 532 00:28:43,779 --> 00:28:46,899 If you do not enroll in a TRICARE 533 00:28:46,899 --> 00:28:50,179 health plan, which I kind of mentioned already, you will default to direct 534 00:28:50,179 --> 00:28:53,579 care only, and that's on a 535 00:28:53,579 --> 00:28:56,659 space-available basis only. And so, we want to make sure that you 536 00:28:56,659 --> 00:28:59,779 maintain your coverage throughout. 537 00:28:59,779 --> 00:29:03,819 If you are in direct care only 538 00:29:03,819 --> 00:29:06,899 status, you will not be covered for any civilian care and 539 00:29:06,899 --> 00:29:08,579 you'll be responsible for all of those costs. 540 00:29:09,329 --> 00:29:12,379 Another thing to remember is the necessity to 541 00:29:12,379 --> 00:29:15,859 continue to pay these applicable enrollment fees. So, making sure that 542 00:29:15,859 --> 00:29:19,009 not only your contact information, but also your payment information, 543 00:29:19,009 --> 00:29:22,019 is up-to-date will help you to maintain your 544 00:29:22,019 --> 00:29:26,019 coverage throughout the extent of your enrollment. 545 00:29:26,019 --> 00:29:29,259 As another reminder, there's not enrollment needed for TRICARE For Life. 546 00:29:29,259 --> 00:29:32,509 Your coverage is automatic if you have Medicare Part A and 547 00:29:32,509 --> 00:29:35,739 Part B, so in the same way that we said at the beginning, 548 00:29:35,739 --> 00:29:39,259 that we need to see that your retired status is reflected in 549 00:29:39,259 --> 00:29:42,539 DEERS in order to know that you're eligible for TRICARE, it's similar with 550 00:29:42,539 --> 00:29:42,859 Medicare. 551 00:29:43,009 --> 00:29:46,259 We have to know that you have the Medicare 552 00:29:46,259 --> 00:29:50,489 eligibility, and then we know that you have the TRICARE For Life . 553 00:29:50,489 --> 00:29:53,699 Then on this slide again, just because I cannot say it enough, please do 554 00:29:53,699 --> 00:29:57,139 not forget to keep DEERS updated with your contact information, 555 00:29:57,139 --> 00:30:00,779 with your family composition, if anything like that changes with your address, 556 00:30:00,779 --> 00:30:02,449 all of that. Next slide, please. 557 00:30:04,939 --> 00:30:06,699 So, the TRICARE Pharmacy Program 558 00:30:08,579 --> 00:30:11,699 is important to think about. It's the same for 559 00:30:11,699 --> 00:30:15,219 all the health plans, with the exception of USFHP because, 560 00:30:15,219 --> 00:30:18,139 USFHP (as I mentioned) is going to be using their own pharmacy. 561 00:30:18,729 --> 00:30:22,179 You have options to fill your prescriptions. And when 562 00:30:22,179 --> 00:30:26,499 you're looking at the options that are on this 563 00:30:26,499 --> 00:30:29,619 slide, they get more expensive as you go down. So, the cheapest option 564 00:30:29,619 --> 00:30:32,699 for you is going to be the military pharmacies, and the most 565 00:30:32,699 --> 00:30:35,899 expensive option is going to be non-network pharmacies and 566 00:30:35,899 --> 00:30:39,419 overseas pharmacies. So, most of our retirees and 567 00:30:39,419 --> 00:30:42,859 family members are required to fill certain maintenance 568 00:30:42,859 --> 00:30:46,219 medications through home delivery, and that is 569 00:30:46,219 --> 00:30:49,289 actually a very convenient option. We find that a lot 570 00:30:49,289 --> 00:30:51,699 of our retirees appreciate having that flexibility. 571 00:30:52,009 --> 00:30:55,099 But whenever you're looking at which pharmacy 572 00:30:55,099 --> 00:30:58,229 you're going to, you do want to prioritize the ones that are 573 00:30:58,229 --> 00:31:02,059 towards the top of this list in order to minimize your 574 00:31:02,059 --> 00:31:05,139 costs. Next slide. I know we received a specific 575 00:31:05,139 --> 00:31:08,259 question about whether or not we were going to cover dental 576 00:31:08,259 --> 00:31:11,459 and vision. So, if you're that person who asked that question, here you go. We're on 577 00:31:11,459 --> 00:31:14,859 that slide now. So, looking 578 00:31:14,859 --> 00:31:18,499 at dental and vision coverage, this is not something that comes automatically with 579 00:31:18,499 --> 00:31:21,689 TRICARE Select. I mentioned that for 580 00:31:21,689 --> 00:31:22,969 TRICARE Prime, there is 581 00:31:23,689 --> 00:31:26,859 an eye exam every other 582 00:31:26,859 --> 00:31:29,939 year, but for TRICARE Select, if you were looking for 583 00:31:29,939 --> 00:31:33,179 vision coverage, you need to get that through FEDVIP, the 584 00:31:33,179 --> 00:31:36,779 Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program. And then 585 00:31:36,779 --> 00:31:40,579 for both Prime and Select, you would need to get your 586 00:31:40,579 --> 00:31:44,179 dental coverage through FEDVIP. FEDVIP operates 587 00:31:44,179 --> 00:31:47,419 similarly to us in the sense that they have an open season and 588 00:31:47,419 --> 00:31:50,619 they have Qualifying Life Events and the fact that retirement is a 589 00:31:50,619 --> 00:31:52,929 Qualifying Life Event for them. One thing you'll see that is 590 00:31:53,089 --> 00:31:56,099 different, though, is that the timeframe for 591 00:31:56,099 --> 00:31:59,299 when you can enroll as a retiree in FEDVIP is different. 592 00:31:59,299 --> 00:32:02,379 So, you can see that kind of towards the middle of this slide, it says you 593 00:32:02,379 --> 00:32:05,579 can enroll between 31 days before 594 00:32:05,579 --> 00:32:08,739 and 60 days after your retirement date. Another 595 00:32:08,739 --> 00:32:12,019 thing that's important to point out about FEDVIP is that there 596 00:32:12,019 --> 00:32:15,299 is not the same flexibility for split enrollment, so you do 597 00:32:15,299 --> 00:32:18,419 need to make sure that the sponsor's enrolled, so that the rest of the 598 00:32:18,419 --> 00:32:21,659 family can enroll. And typically, the entire family must 599 00:32:21,659 --> 00:32:22,729 be enrolled in the same plan. 600 00:32:23,639 --> 00:32:24,239 Next slide, please. 601 00:32:26,619 --> 00:32:29,709 So, before we shift into the Q&A portion 602 00:32:29,709 --> 00:32:33,019 of our presentation, I just want to highlight a couple resources that can help you 603 00:32:33,019 --> 00:32:36,219 learn more about your benefits. So first, these are some 604 00:32:36,219 --> 00:32:39,419 materials in the TRICARE publications that you might find 605 00:32:39,419 --> 00:32:42,539 useful. We have several different brochures and 606 00:32:42,539 --> 00:32:45,659 also fact sheets, and these stay updated. 607 00:32:45,659 --> 00:32:48,699 The fact sheets, especially the one related to the costs and 608 00:32:48,699 --> 00:32:51,899 fees, that's one that you want to make sure that you take a look at as you're 609 00:32:51,899 --> 00:32:55,019 planning financially for your health care costs 610 00:32:55,019 --> 00:32:56,539 as you get ready to retire. 611 00:32:56,929 --> 00:33:00,259 And then we also have a TRICARE For Life podcast, 612 00:33:00,259 --> 00:33:03,419 which goes through a lot more detail about the TRICARE 613 00:33:03,419 --> 00:33:07,259 For Life interaction with TRICARE and with Medicare specifically. 614 00:33:07,259 --> 00:33:11,059 And there's information at the bottom of this slide for how to download those 615 00:33:11,059 --> 00:33:14,169 resources. Next slide, please 616 00:33:14,169 --> 00:33:17,419 Here's the contact information that I mentioned at the beginning. So, 617 00:33:17,419 --> 00:33:21,019 this is the contact information for our TRICARE contractors 618 00:33:21,019 --> 00:33:24,259 and the partners that we talked about throughout this presentation. And 619 00:33:24,259 --> 00:33:28,019 this is where you can reach out to if you're looking to enroll over the phone 620 00:33:28,019 --> 00:33:28,209 or online. 621 00:33:28,609 --> 00:33:31,739 And they can give you specific information based off of 622 00:33:31,739 --> 00:33:34,819 where you live, particularly. On 623 00:33:34,819 --> 00:33:38,139 this slide is also a point of contact for TRICARE 624 00:33:38,139 --> 00:33:41,339 For Life, and they can also help you based off of where 625 00:33:41,339 --> 00:33:44,619 you live. And there's also, as just another 626 00:33:44,619 --> 00:33:47,739 reminder, a copy of this presentation that can also be 627 00:33:47,739 --> 00:33:50,939 downloaded on our website, and the specific website for 628 00:33:50,939 --> 00:33:52,969 that would be tricare.mil/webinars. 629 00:33:54,699 --> 00:33:55,619 Next slide, please. 630 00:33:56,529 --> 00:33:59,619 So finally, I want to remind you that there are many 631 00:33:59,619 --> 00:34:02,659 ways to stay up to date with TRICARE. You can 632 00:34:02,659 --> 00:34:05,899 visit newsroom.tricare.mil to see the latest articles and news about 633 00:34:05,899 --> 00:34:09,419 your benefit. You can go to tricare.mil/subscriptions 634 00:34:09,419 --> 00:34:12,739 to subscribe to benefit update emails and newsletters, and you 635 00:34:12,739 --> 00:34:15,859 can also follow TRICARE on social media to 636 00:34:15,859 --> 00:34:19,099 get real-time updates on everything. 637 00:34:19,099 --> 00:34:22,129 And now, I'll hand things back over to Christianne to 638 00:34:22,129 --> 00:34:23,089 start our Q&A session. 639 00:34:24,249 --> 00:34:28,019 WITTEN: Thanks so much, Zelly. I so appreciate 640 00:34:28,019 --> 00:34:31,539 you. You are a wealth of information. We're thrilled to have you join us. 641 00:34:32,919 --> 00:34:36,099 But I did note some questions in the chat. Folks are wondering 642 00:34:36,099 --> 00:34:39,219 if there's going to be a recording and if these slides will be available. And I 643 00:34:39,219 --> 00:34:42,429 did want to foot stomp: We will post this information on 644 00:34:42,429 --> 00:34:45,659 our TRICARE Newsroom shortly following the 645 00:34:45,659 --> 00:34:49,019 event. So again, thank you Zelly for your 646 00:34:49,019 --> 00:34:52,179 wonderful remarks, and I see we have many 647 00:34:52,179 --> 00:34:55,419 excellent questions that are coming up here in our feed. Just as a 648 00:34:55,419 --> 00:34:58,579 a reminder, we've seen folks ask how they can actually ask 649 00:34:58,579 --> 00:35:01,779 questions during this webinar. You'll notice in the top right of 650 00:35:01,779 --> 00:35:02,139 your screen 651 00:35:02,729 --> 00:35:06,149 a Q&A pane bubble icon there. And 652 00:35:06,149 --> 00:35:09,499 you can submit questions through that tab and ask a 653 00:35:09,499 --> 00:35:12,699 question in the question box. We just ask that you 654 00:35:12,699 --> 00:35:16,139 refrain from including any personal information when submitting 655 00:35:16,139 --> 00:35:20,579 your questions. We do have a whole team here that's monitoring your 656 00:35:20,579 --> 00:35:23,619 input. So, with that, we'll try to get to as many of your 657 00:35:23,619 --> 00:35:27,019 questions today as we can. And let's just start with the 658 00:35:27,019 --> 00:35:30,259 first question that we received, Zelly, and that is: How 659 00:35:30,259 --> 00:35:31,939 many days do I have to choose 660 00:35:32,169 --> 00:35:35,339 and enroll in a plan? 661 00:35:35,339 --> 00:35:38,499 ZIM: So, choosing a plan can start today. You have 662 00:35:38,499 --> 00:35:41,809 a lot of time, but actually enrolling 663 00:35:41,809 --> 00:35:44,939 in a plan, you have 90 days from your retirement date. If you 664 00:35:44,939 --> 00:35:48,139 have your orders in hand before then, you can call your 665 00:35:48,139 --> 00:35:51,339 contractor before then and enroll in the plan effective your 666 00:35:51,339 --> 00:35:54,659 retirement date. So, 90 days is that QLE, but again, we did 667 00:35:54,659 --> 00:35:58,009 talk about that retroactive period. You have up to 12 months 668 00:35:58,009 --> 00:36:01,059 from your retirement date to enroll in a plan. But again, 669 00:36:01,059 --> 00:36:01,609 if you wait 670 00:36:01,889 --> 00:36:05,259 past the 90-day period, you would have a gap in coverage. 671 00:36:05,259 --> 00:36:08,339 You'd need to call us back, and we can reprocess your claims for that 672 00:36:08,339 --> 00:36:11,619 time period. But good question. 673 00:36:11,619 --> 00:36:14,979 WITTEN: Thanks, Zelly. The next question that we got from our audience was: What 674 00:36:14,979 --> 00:36:18,019 happens if my retirement information isn't updated in DEERS 675 00:36:18,019 --> 00:36:21,459 right away? Do I have to wait to take action until my 676 00:36:21,459 --> 00:36:24,699 retirement is updated in DEERS? 677 00:36:24,699 --> 00:36:28,019 ZIM: Yes, so you do need to wait to take action until that's updated in DEERS. And I would encourage 678 00:36:28,019 --> 00:36:31,139 you to reach out to your uniformed services personnel 679 00:36:31,139 --> 00:36:34,419 office to make sure that information gets updated as quickly as possible. 680 00:36:45,149 --> 00:36:48,179 WITTEN: Thanks so much. I know that's among our frequently asked 681 00:36:48,179 --> 00:36:51,379 questions. The other question that we have teed up 682 00:36:51,379 --> 00:36:54,549 here is: If I want to stay in TRICARE Prime 683 00:36:54,549 --> 00:36:57,699 when I retire, do I need to do anything to renew 684 00:36:57,699 --> 00:37:00,979 my referrals or keep my prescriptions? 685 00:37:00,979 --> 00:37:04,339 ZIM: Yes. So, if you're staying in TRICARE Prime, you will still need 686 00:37:04,339 --> 00:37:07,899 to reenroll. And because it's possible that your primary care 687 00:37:07,899 --> 00:37:11,179 manager changes once you come back into TRICARE 688 00:37:11,179 --> 00:37:14,229 Prime as a retiree. You will need to work with them to make sure that 689 00:37:15,059 --> 00:37:16,939 your referrals and prescriptions get renewed. 690 00:37:18,189 --> 00:37:21,459 WITTEN: Great. Thanks so much. Our next 691 00:37:21,459 --> 00:37:24,579 question was specifically around Prime Remote: If I 692 00:37:24,579 --> 00:37:27,779 was a Prime Remote beneficiary while 693 00:37:27,779 --> 00:37:31,579 on active duty and stay in the same location, can I continue 694 00:37:31,579 --> 00:37:34,869 to stay Prime Remote as a retiree? 695 00:37:34,869 --> 00:37:37,979 ZIM: That's a great question. I'm going to pass that over to Ms. Shane Pham, who's our TRICARE 696 00:37:37,979 --> 00:37:42,259 Prime Remote SME in the room. 697 00:37:42,259 --> 00:37:45,859 SHANE PHAM: Hi. Thank you, Zelly. If you are not active duty anymore, you do not 698 00:37:45,859 --> 00:37:48,109 qualify for TRICARE Prime Remote, 699 00:37:48,689 --> 00:37:52,219 and your family doesn't either. So, once you retire, you 700 00:37:52,219 --> 00:37:55,339 will not be able to be on TRICARE Prime Remote. 701 00:37:55,339 --> 00:37:58,699 ZIM: So, if you stay in that same area, TRICARE Select would most 702 00:37:58,699 --> 00:38:01,249 likely be the option that makes the most sense for your family. 703 00:38:04,379 --> 00:38:07,459 WITTEN: Okay, great. 704 00:38:07,459 --> 00:38:11,299 All right, moving on to our next question that we have. 705 00:38:17,049 --> 00:38:20,059 I see we have a question here from 706 00:38:20,059 --> 00:38:23,219 someone who is a dependent of a retired service member, and the 707 00:38:23,219 --> 00:38:26,249 question is: If I'm still employed until I'm 67, 708 00:38:27,899 --> 00:38:31,019 and therefore not enrolled in Medicare Part B, 709 00:38:31,019 --> 00:38:34,619 will it interfere with getting TRICARE For Life? 710 00:38:34,619 --> 00:38:37,739 ZIM: If you're still employed, then you don't need 711 00:38:37,739 --> 00:38:40,939 to move into TRICARE For Life. You can still stay in 712 00:38:40,939 --> 00:38:44,299 your other TRICARE plan. But Ms. Anne Breslin, who is our 713 00:38:44,299 --> 00:38:46,219 TFL SME, is on the line. 714 00:38:47,569 --> 00:38:51,809 ANNE BRESLIN: Let me correct that. 715 00:38:51,809 --> 00:38:54,859 So, any retiree or retiree family 716 00:38:54,859 --> 00:38:58,459 member who is entitled to Medicare Part A-- and that's regardless 717 00:38:58,459 --> 00:38:58,569 of age-- 718 00:39:00,299 --> 00:39:03,739 must also have Medicare Part B to remain 719 00:39:03,739 --> 00:39:07,259 eligible for TRICARE. So, if you're still 720 00:39:07,259 --> 00:39:10,739 working and have employer-sponsored coverage, Medicare 721 00:39:10,739 --> 00:39:14,299 allows you to delay your enrollment in Part 722 00:39:14,299 --> 00:39:18,779 B. However, you will not be eligible for any TRICARE plan without 723 00:39:18,779 --> 00:39:18,979 Part B. 724 00:39:19,849 --> 00:39:22,859 So that's a choice that you have. 725 00:39:22,859 --> 00:39:26,939 You can either use your employer-sponsored coverage. 726 00:39:26,939 --> 00:39:30,139 You can also pay for Medicare Part B, 727 00:39:30,139 --> 00:39:33,299 if you so choose, and then you would have TRICARE For 728 00:39:33,299 --> 00:39:36,859 Life as a third payer. You can also 729 00:39:36,859 --> 00:39:40,419 forgo the Part B and use your employer-sponsored coverage until you 730 00:39:40,419 --> 00:39:43,619 retire from that position and no longer have the 731 00:39:43,619 --> 00:39:47,179 employer coverage, and Medicare allows 732 00:39:47,179 --> 00:39:49,489 you to enroll in Part B without penalty. 733 00:39:50,209 --> 00:39:52,089 It's called a Special Enrollment Period. 734 00:39:53,779 --> 00:39:56,899 WITTEN: Thanks so much. Always great to have a team of 735 00:39:56,899 --> 00:40:00,379 experts helping answer your questions. We have over 736 00:40:00,379 --> 00:40:03,939 1,000 of you online, so we're thrilled, and we continue to see questions 737 00:40:03,939 --> 00:40:07,059 rolling in. The next question was: What should I do 738 00:40:07,059 --> 00:40:10,659 if I plan to move when I retire? 739 00:40:10,659 --> 00:40:13,859 ZIM: That's also a great question. So, it kind of depends on if you know where you're 740 00:40:13,859 --> 00:40:17,019 moving to and you have your address. If you're going to 741 00:40:17,019 --> 00:40:19,019 be moving within that 90-day timeframe, 742 00:40:19,569 --> 00:40:22,739 you can go ahead and request enrollment 743 00:40:22,739 --> 00:40:25,849 using that address, because as we talked about, we want to keep our address up-to- 744 00:40:25,849 --> 00:40:29,139 date in DEERS. So, you can go ahead and do that. If you're going to 745 00:40:29,139 --> 00:40:32,699 be moving outside of your retirement window, you 746 00:40:32,699 --> 00:40:35,899 can just remember that moving itself is a Qualifying Life 747 00:40:35,899 --> 00:40:39,339 Event, so you might want to use the moving QLE 748 00:40:39,339 --> 00:40:42,619 instead of relying on the retirement QLE. But I just want to caution you, if 749 00:40:42,619 --> 00:40:45,749 that's what you're going with, make sure that you use your retirement 750 00:40:45,749 --> 00:40:48,939 QLE on time so that you don't have a gap in coverage, 751 00:40:48,939 --> 00:40:52,289 and then down the line--maybe if it's six months down the road or as it 752 00:40:52,289 --> 00:40:52,609 may be -- 753 00:40:52,729 --> 00:40:55,849 then you you're getting ready to move, and you can use 754 00:40:55,849 --> 00:40:59,089 a moving QLE, which gives you that 90-day period again to change your plan. 755 00:40:59,089 --> 00:41:02,379 WITTEN: So, when you mentioned the timeframe for the 756 00:41:02,379 --> 00:41:05,939 retirement QLE, just to foot stomp that: It's 90 757 00:41:05,939 --> 00:41:09,099 days after you retire, what is the window? 758 00:41:09,099 --> 00:41:12,339 ZIM: It's 90 days to avoid a gap in coverage. So, 759 00:41:12,339 --> 00:41:15,569 if you push it all the way out to the one-year mark, you do 760 00:41:15,569 --> 00:41:19,939 have to call back and then have your claims reprocessed. 761 00:41:19,939 --> 00:41:23,579 WITTEN: Okay, that sounds a bit sticky. We don't want that. 762 00:41:23,579 --> 00:41:26,779 ZIM: We would prefer the 90 days and that way, you don't have a gap in coverage, but we 763 00:41:26,779 --> 00:41:27,419 do know that 764 00:41:27,609 --> 00:41:30,619 there's sometimes a need for that flexibility and that's why 765 00:41:30,619 --> 00:41:34,379 that 12-month period is in there. 766 00:41:34,379 --> 00:41:37,539 WITTEN: Thanks for clarifying. How does TRICARE work if I want to split 767 00:41:37,539 --> 00:41:40,779 my time between two states?-- Perhaps this is a snowbird 768 00:41:40,779 --> 00:41:43,979 who's asked this question. Should I update DEERS every time 769 00:41:43,979 --> 00:41:47,539 I change my address? 770 00:41:47,539 --> 00:41:50,929 ZIM: This kind of depends on which plan you're interested in. So, if you're in TRICARE 771 00:41:50,929 --> 00:41:53,979 Select, for example, you're not tied to a 772 00:41:53,979 --> 00:41:57,069 specific address, and so there is slightly 773 00:41:57,069 --> 00:41:58,889 more flexibility there if you're moving back and forth. 774 00:41:59,329 --> 00:42:02,819 If the two places that you're going back and forth 775 00:42:02,819 --> 00:42:06,059 between, or at least one of them, is within a Prime Service Area, then you 776 00:42:06,059 --> 00:42:09,229 might be more interested in keeping 777 00:42:09,229 --> 00:42:12,259 your PCM, your primary care manager, in 778 00:42:12,259 --> 00:42:15,459 one location, and then for the other location, you would 779 00:42:15,459 --> 00:42:19,139 need to have a referral all the time. 780 00:42:19,139 --> 00:42:22,179 So, the answer to this question really depends on which plan you're 781 00:42:22,179 --> 00:42:25,419 looking at. The recommendation, just based on the 782 00:42:25,419 --> 00:42:28,579 information that you've given here, would be that TRICARE Select 783 00:42:28,579 --> 00:42:32,139 would be the simplest plan for you to have the flexibility that 784 00:42:32,139 --> 00:42:32,169 you need. 785 00:42:33,049 --> 00:42:33,649 WITTEN: Got it. 786 00:42:35,209 --> 00:42:38,489 All right. Moving right 787 00:42:38,489 --> 00:42:41,689 along. So, this next question was: If I retire on 788 00:42:41,689 --> 00:42:46,449 the 1st of July, can I sign my family up for TRICARE Prime 789 00:42:46,449 --> 00:42:49,769 before my retirement date? 790 00:42:49,769 --> 00:42:53,289 ZIM: If you have your orders and that retirement date is already in DEERS, then 791 00:42:53,289 --> 00:42:56,489 you can call the contractor and make that change 792 00:42:56,489 --> 00:42:59,569 for your family members before your retirement date. 793 00:42:59,569 --> 00:43:02,809 It's usually up to 30 or 60 days before the retirement date that 794 00:43:02,809 --> 00:43:06,369 they can actually do that, but you do need to have that information in 795 00:43:06,369 --> 00:43:06,449 DEERS. 796 00:43:06,879 --> 00:43:10,369 If it's not in DEERS, then you've got to wait until it is 797 00:43:10,369 --> 00:43:13,449 so that you can make that change for your family. 798 00:43:13,449 --> 00:43:16,609 And the change will be effective your retirement date, even if 799 00:43:16,609 --> 00:43:19,889 you're calling beforehand. 800 00:43:19,889 --> 00:43:23,129 WITTEN: Okay, thank you for that advice. And congratulations to this individual, who 801 00:43:23,129 --> 00:43:26,289 will be retiring here shortly. A great way to celebrate the 4th 802 00:43:26,289 --> 00:43:29,569 of July holiday as well. So, our next question again, 803 00:43:29,569 --> 00:43:32,689 I think is to foot stomp and clarify when we're talking 804 00:43:32,689 --> 00:43:35,809 out that 90-day timeframe. Does making the 805 00:43:35,809 --> 00:43:38,849 change within 90 days mean 90 days before your 806 00:43:38,849 --> 00:43:42,119 retirement date, or 90 days after your retirement date? 807 00:43:42,239 --> 00:43:45,249 I've heard you can enroll only within 808 00:43:45,249 --> 00:43:48,729 30 days before your retirement date. 809 00:43:48,729 --> 00:43:52,969 ZIM: That's a good follow-up question. That's basically what I was just talking about on the last one. 810 00:43:52,969 --> 00:43:56,129 90 days after your retirement date is the time period that 811 00:43:56,129 --> 00:43:59,329 you have. And then, in terms of calling 812 00:43:59,329 --> 00:44:02,569 or making a selection online before your retirement date, yes, 813 00:44:02,569 --> 00:44:05,729 that's only up to one month beforehand. But even if 814 00:44:05,729 --> 00:44:09,249 you do that beforehand, again, it's only effective the 815 00:44:09,249 --> 00:44:10,479 date of your retirement. 816 00:44:11,119 --> 00:44:14,449 WITTEN: All right, thanks for breaking that down. So, this 817 00:44:14,449 --> 00:44:17,569 question comes from a retired Reservist: I'm a 818 00:44:17,569 --> 00:44:20,659 retired Reservist drawing retired pay, 819 00:44:20,659 --> 00:44:24,079 and I'm currently covered by the FEHB. 820 00:44:24,079 --> 00:44:27,409 I plan to leave federal service this summer, deferring 821 00:44:27,409 --> 00:44:31,369 my actual retirement until I turn 62 next year. 822 00:44:31,369 --> 00:44:34,529 How does the TRICARE eligibility work for someone in my 823 00:44:34,529 --> 00:44:37,879 situation? Leaving federal service -- is that considered a 824 00:44:37,879 --> 00:44:40,759 QLE, and can I enroll in TRICARE within 90 days? 825 00:44:41,879 --> 00:44:44,889 ZIM: So, not specifically leaving federal 826 00:44:44,889 --> 00:44:48,209 service, but losing your Federal Employee 827 00:44:48,209 --> 00:44:51,769 Health Benefit would be the Qualifying Life Event there, and 828 00:44:51,769 --> 00:44:55,769 yes, within 90 days you could enroll in another TRICARE plan. 829 00:44:55,769 --> 00:44:58,849 In terms of the beginning part of 830 00:44:58,849 --> 00:45:02,009 that, being a retired Reservist, because you're 831 00:45:02,009 --> 00:45:06,009 drawing retiree pay already, then that means that you're eligible for 832 00:45:06,009 --> 00:45:09,209 one of those TRICARE plans that we talked about like Prime and Select, once 833 00:45:09,209 --> 00:45:10,119 you get to that point. 834 00:45:10,759 --> 00:45:14,209 BRESLIN: Let me add something here. It's 835 00:45:14,209 --> 00:45:17,479 just a little-known 836 00:45:17,479 --> 00:45:20,579 fact for many people: If you 837 00:45:20,579 --> 00:45:24,209 are working currently as a federal civilian and have federal 838 00:45:24,209 --> 00:45:28,479 employee health benefits, after you retire, 839 00:45:28,479 --> 00:45:32,489 you can suspend your FEHBP 840 00:45:32,489 --> 00:45:35,979 and you then would have the option, in the future, 841 00:45:35,979 --> 00:45:39,159 during open season, 842 00:45:39,159 --> 00:45:41,879 to sign up again if you ever decided that's what you wanted. 843 00:45:42,119 --> 00:45:45,649 If you just cancel your FEHBP, 844 00:45:45,649 --> 00:45:48,769 you will never have an opportunity to get it back. 845 00:45:48,769 --> 00:45:52,369 ZIM: So, the key there is suspending, not canceling. 846 00:45:52,369 --> 00:45:56,129 WITTEN: Give yourself more options. Thank you for that tip. I will keep that in 847 00:45:56,129 --> 00:45:59,529 mind, though I am a few years off. Great, but that's an 848 00:45:59,529 --> 00:46:01,039 important distinction. 849 00:46:02,719 --> 00:46:06,009 So, this next question was about DEERS: Will DEERS 850 00:46:06,009 --> 00:46:09,129 issue me a new ID card if my retirement 851 00:46:09,129 --> 00:46:12,409 date isn't in DEERS yet? I think you already answered this. 852 00:46:12,409 --> 00:46:15,759 ZIM: The answer is no. So, that retirement date does need to 853 00:46:15,759 --> 00:46:18,889 be in DEERS. We just want to make sure that 854 00:46:18,889 --> 00:46:23,199 all the dates line up across all of our different systems. DEERS is our 855 00:46:23,199 --> 00:46:26,209 system of record for that. 856 00:46:26,209 --> 00:46:30,639 WITTEN: If we get our retired IDs prior to our retirement date, does 857 00:46:30,639 --> 00:46:33,929 DEERS automatically update our retired status once our 858 00:46:33,929 --> 00:46:34,919 retirement date comes up? 859 00:46:35,159 --> 00:46:38,289 ZIM: That kind of goes with the last one. So those things do need to 860 00:46:38,289 --> 00:46:41,529 go hand in hand. You're not going to be able to go get that 861 00:46:41,529 --> 00:46:45,689 retired ID card prior to your retirement 862 00:46:45,689 --> 00:46:49,199 date, unless that information is already in DEERS. 863 00:46:49,199 --> 00:46:52,409 And that's really going to apply for your family members, more so 864 00:46:52,409 --> 00:46:55,969 than the actual active duty service member. 865 00:46:55,969 --> 00:46:59,169 WITTEN: All right, great. So next question here is from someone who's 866 00:46:59,169 --> 00:47:02,369 due to retire in June after 22 years 867 00:47:02,369 --> 00:47:05,559 on active duty. So, congratulations on your 868 00:47:05,559 --> 00:47:07,319 upcoming retirement. You're in the home stretch! 869 00:47:08,719 --> 00:47:11,809 I have a child that is in need of 870 00:47:11,809 --> 00:47:15,399 special treatment. Will he be covered after I have retired? 871 00:47:15,399 --> 00:47:18,529 ZIM: So, for this question, I'll give you 872 00:47:18,529 --> 00:47:21,729 kind of a blanket response, but I would encourage you to 873 00:47:21,729 --> 00:47:25,449 reach out to us to get more in depth on this specifically. 874 00:47:25,449 --> 00:47:28,729 So, if your child is using a service like 875 00:47:28,729 --> 00:47:31,809 ECHO, 876 00:47:31,809 --> 00:47:35,169 that service specifically does not continue for retirees. But 877 00:47:35,169 --> 00:47:38,799 there are other ways that we make sure that your child has coverage. And another 878 00:47:38,799 --> 00:47:41,929 piece that would be important to answer this question is whether or not 879 00:47:41,999 --> 00:47:45,089 your child is still a minor, or if they're approaching adult age 880 00:47:45,089 --> 00:47:48,129 as well, because that could change things. We'd have to make sure that 881 00:47:48,129 --> 00:47:51,729 they have the proper status to continue to 882 00:47:51,729 --> 00:47:54,809 be covered when you retire. For example, if they are an 883 00:47:54,809 --> 00:47:58,409 incapacitated adult, they'll continue to be covered under your retirement. 884 00:47:58,409 --> 00:48:01,649 But generally, if your 885 00:48:01,649 --> 00:48:04,849 child falls into that category, they'll continue to be covered 886 00:48:04,849 --> 00:48:08,239 under your military health care benefit. 887 00:48:08,799 --> 00:48:11,399 WITTEN: Thanks, Zelly. Let's see here. 888 00:48:13,249 --> 00:48:17,929 Can you talk a bit more about enrolling during terminal leave? 889 00:48:17,929 --> 00:48:21,369 Can it kick in early? 890 00:48:21,369 --> 00:48:24,609 ZIM: So, that kind of goes back to our other question where they 891 00:48:24,609 --> 00:48:28,169 asked if you can enroll before your actual retirement 892 00:48:28,169 --> 00:48:31,369 date. Your terminal leave date is somewhere between when you stopped 893 00:48:31,369 --> 00:48:34,889 showing up at the office and your retirement date. So, in 894 00:48:34,889 --> 00:48:38,089 those last 30 days of terminal leave, yes, you could go ahead 895 00:48:38,089 --> 00:48:38,289 and make 896 00:48:39,119 --> 00:48:42,689 a selection for your enrollment. During terminal 897 00:48:42,689 --> 00:48:45,769 leave, though, you still have whatever active duty coverage 898 00:48:45,769 --> 00:48:49,049 you're on. So as an active duty service member, you still have Prime. Your family would 899 00:48:49,049 --> 00:48:52,489 have whatever they currently have as well. So yes, you can 900 00:48:52,489 --> 00:48:55,809 enroll during terminal leave. It would need to be within that 901 00:48:55,809 --> 00:48:56,239 30 days before 902 00:48:58,009 --> 00:49:01,129 your actual retirement date. And hopefully, by the time you're 903 00:49:01,129 --> 00:49:04,329 getting to that point in terminal leave, you have all of your retirement 904 00:49:04,329 --> 00:49:07,169 information and dates in DEERS. 905 00:49:07,879 --> 00:49:11,169 WITTEN: Ducks in a row, as they say. Yes. So, what plan provides 906 00:49:11,169 --> 00:49:14,289 medical coverage when traveling overseas? Inquiring 907 00:49:14,289 --> 00:49:15,839 minds want to know, as I too prepare to travel. 908 00:49:17,809 --> 00:49:21,889 ZIM: There is not travel coverage with TRICARE 909 00:49:21,889 --> 00:49:25,089 for retirees in that sense. If you're living 910 00:49:25,089 --> 00:49:28,129 overseas, then TRICARE Select Overseas would be an 911 00:49:28,129 --> 00:49:31,169 option. There's not TRICARE Prime Overseas, but then, of course, if 912 00:49:31,169 --> 00:49:34,369 you need emergency care when you're overseas, you can 913 00:49:34,369 --> 00:49:37,569 also always visit a military hospital or clinic. 914 00:49:37,569 --> 00:49:40,769 If you have any questions when you're traveling overseas, or you're 915 00:49:40,769 --> 00:49:41,729 trying to see a provider 916 00:49:42,119 --> 00:49:45,449 and you have TRICARE Prime back here at home, then same 917 00:49:45,449 --> 00:49:48,529 deal as here. You're going to want to call 918 00:49:48,529 --> 00:49:51,849 your provider and then make sure that they can help you with the referral piece. 919 00:49:51,849 --> 00:49:55,049 And the TRICARE Overseas office will coordinate with the 920 00:49:55,049 --> 00:49:59,319 stateside office on that piece. 921 00:49:59,319 --> 00:50:02,609 WITTEN: Important as we head into the summer season, where many 922 00:50:02,609 --> 00:50:05,599 may be traveling overseas. So great question. 923 00:50:08,099 --> 00:50:11,129 Can you tell me a bit more about 924 00:50:11,129 --> 00:50:14,329 how we utilize TRICARE For Life once we hit 65, 925 00:50:14,329 --> 00:50:18,089 if we're still working and paying for company health care? 926 00:50:18,089 --> 00:50:21,689 ZIM: I'll pass that one over to Anne. 927 00:50:21,689 --> 00:50:25,209 BRESLIN: This is Anne Breslin. I'm the TRICARE for Life program manager. You are not eligible for 928 00:50:25,209 --> 00:50:28,489 TRICARE coverage if you're entitled to Medicare Part A 929 00:50:28,489 --> 00:50:31,459 and do not have Medicare Part B. 930 00:50:32,039 --> 00:50:35,249 You can rely on your employer coverage, or 931 00:50:35,249 --> 00:50:38,299 you can also enroll in Medicare Part 932 00:50:38,299 --> 00:50:41,329 B. Those are your choices. If you want TRICARE, you will 933 00:50:41,329 --> 00:50:43,559 have to have Medicare Part A and Part B. 934 00:50:46,289 --> 00:50:51,009 WITTEN: Always important to understand those distinctions. Thanks so much, Ms. Breslin. 935 00:50:51,009 --> 00:50:54,529 This next question is for their spouse: Is my 936 00:50:54,529 --> 00:50:57,729 spouse eligible for TRICARE For Life, 937 00:50:57,729 --> 00:51:01,529 since she's on Medicare, even though I am eligible for TRICARE 938 00:51:01,529 --> 00:51:02,249 Retired Reserve? 939 00:51:03,929 --> 00:51:06,969 BRESLIN: Spouses or even children who 940 00:51:06,969 --> 00:51:10,809 might be eligible for Medicare, if they have Medicare Part A and B, 941 00:51:10,809 --> 00:51:13,849 are eligible for TRICARE For Life. 942 00:51:13,849 --> 00:51:17,139 If they're under 65 (for example, a child with Medicare A 943 00:51:17,139 --> 00:51:20,529 A and B), they are eligible for TRICARE Prime. 944 00:51:22,249 --> 00:51:22,409 945 00:51:24,969 --> 00:51:28,529 946 00:51:28,529 --> 00:51:31,889 WITTEN: The next question is for FEDVIP: If we're already enrolled 947 00:51:31,889 --> 00:51:34,609 in FEDVIP, does that automatically roll over? 948 00:51:35,749 --> 00:51:39,299 ZIM: So, I'm thinking this question would 949 00:51:39,299 --> 00:51:42,429 be a family member that's enrolled in FEDVIP while they have 950 00:51:42,429 --> 00:51:43,389 an active duty service member. 951 00:51:44,849 --> 00:51:48,889 But no, your FEDVIP does not roll over. 952 00:51:48,889 --> 00:51:52,089 There is not a part of this process that rolls over, whether it's your 953 00:51:52,089 --> 00:51:55,289 health care coverage or your dental or your vision. So, you want to make 954 00:51:55,289 --> 00:51:58,689 sure that you take the steps that we talked about in order to 955 00:51:58,689 --> 00:52:02,009 enroll in a plan for FEDVIP. Again, for FEDVIP, 956 00:52:02,009 --> 00:52:04,529 retirement is also a Qualifying Life Event, but you have 957 00:52:04,959 --> 00:52:09,129 31 days before 958 00:52:09,129 --> 00:52:12,169 and 60 days after your retirement date to make that 959 00:52:12,169 --> 00:52:15,809 change. And they don't have an extended period, so you really want to 960 00:52:15,809 --> 00:52:19,049 make those changes as quickly as possible. I just suggest, if 961 00:52:19,049 --> 00:52:22,089 you know what your retirement date is or about what it is, go ahead and put 962 00:52:22,089 --> 00:52:25,129 something in your calendar to remind you 963 00:52:25,129 --> 00:52:28,239 within two weeks of that date to make sure that you have all of this in order. 964 00:52:29,969 --> 00:52:30,209 WITTEN: Great. 965 00:52:32,279 --> 00:52:35,809 This is another question on behalf of a military spouse, 966 00:52:35,809 --> 00:52:39,089 and we might have answered it, but I want to revisit it: My husband is still active 967 00:52:39,089 --> 00:52:42,249 duty and I intend to be his dependent. When can I 968 00:52:42,249 --> 00:52:45,769 enroll without a break in coverage? Do I have to wait 969 00:52:45,769 --> 00:52:48,929 until after retirement to enroll under 970 00:52:48,929 --> 00:52:52,169 his plan, or can I enroll within 90 days of 971 00:52:52,169 --> 00:52:56,839 retirement? 972 00:52:56,839 --> 00:53:00,209 ZIM: As a dependent family member, you do need to 973 00:53:00,209 --> 00:53:01,599 wait for the QLE. 974 00:53:01,669 --> 00:53:05,279 In this sense, the Qualifying Life Event is the retirement 975 00:53:05,279 --> 00:53:08,839 itself. So, if the retirement 976 00:53:08,839 --> 00:53:12,319 date is in DEERS, then you should be able to 977 00:53:12,319 --> 00:53:15,559 enroll within 90 days of your 978 00:53:15,559 --> 00:53:18,679 retirement, which again, we're talking about the 90 days that 979 00:53:18,679 --> 00:53:22,599 come after the retirement, not beforehand. 980 00:53:22,599 --> 00:53:25,759 Basically, you would not have a gap in 981 00:53:25,759 --> 00:53:29,359 coverage in that situation. But for that situation, you want to 982 00:53:29,359 --> 00:53:31,029 want to make sure that you're tying 983 00:53:31,229 --> 00:53:34,399 the changes that you're making to the proper Qualifying 984 00:53:34,399 --> 00:53:37,719 Life Event. So even though in this case, it's the family member that's asking the 985 00:53:37,719 --> 00:53:41,199 question, it's still based off of the sponsor's 986 00:53:41,199 --> 00:53:43,229 retirement date. 987 00:53:44,989 --> 00:53:45,389 WITTEN: That makes sense. Okay. 988 00:53:47,119 --> 00:53:50,879 If a spouse has medical coverage through her employer, 989 00:53:50,879 --> 00:53:53,959 but changes jobs and loses medical coverage, 990 00:53:53,959 --> 00:53:57,279 does that constitute a Qualifying Life Event to add her on to 991 00:53:57,279 --> 00:54:01,079 TRICARE Select, assuming 992 00:54:01,079 --> 00:54:04,919 I'm a retired service member and I'm already on TRICARE Select? 993 00:54:04,919 --> 00:54:08,159 ZIM: Yes, absolutely. So, losing health care coverage, or the opportunity to change health care 994 00:54:08,159 --> 00:54:11,359 coverage, does count as a Qualifying Life Event. 995 00:54:11,359 --> 00:54:14,559 To see the full list of all of the different scenarios, you can go 996 00:54:14,559 --> 00:54:17,759 to our website. Again, that's [tricare.mil/LifeEvents], 997 00:54:17,759 --> 00:54:20,959 and that has the list of all the QLEs, as well as some 998 00:54:20,959 --> 00:54:24,439 examples that could be helpful when you're thinking through different scenarios like that. 999 00:54:25,589 --> 00:54:28,639 WITTEN: Great. Another FEDVIP 1000 00:54:28,639 --> 00:54:32,039 question: Does the FEDVIP dental and vision program 1001 00:54:32,039 --> 00:54:35,799 carry into the 65-plus Medicare phase of 1002 00:54:35,799 --> 00:54:36,069 life? 1003 00:54:37,879 --> 00:54:38,319 ZIM: Yes, it does. 1004 00:54:40,509 --> 00:54:43,799 WITTEN: What do you do if you get a job after retirement that 1005 00:54:43,799 --> 00:54:47,559 offers healthcare coverage, but want to have TRICARE coverage after 1006 00:54:47,559 --> 00:54:51,639 retiring from that job? 1007 00:54:51,639 --> 00:54:55,639 ZIM: So, if you have an entitlement to TRICARE coverage, you don't have to tap 1008 00:54:55,639 --> 00:54:58,719 into that entitlement within this 90 day or 12-month period that 1009 00:54:58,719 --> 00:55:02,039 we're talking about. That's just if we're trying to avoid a gap in 1010 00:55:02,039 --> 00:55:05,239 coverage. So, if you'd like to come back to TRICARE down the road, you 1011 00:55:05,239 --> 00:55:08,359 could do that when you have a Qualifying Life Event or 1012 00:55:08,359 --> 00:55:10,399 during our open season, which happens annually. 1013 00:55:10,829 --> 00:55:14,479 But again, that would only be 1014 00:55:14,479 --> 00:55:17,599 if you are intending a gap between your 1015 00:55:17,599 --> 00:55:20,669 active duty time and when you're coming back onto TRICARE. 1016 00:55:22,519 --> 00:55:25,599 Let me add something else 1017 00:55:25,599 --> 00:55:29,359 there. So, if you have a job 1018 00:55:29,359 --> 00:55:32,999 after retiring from active duty that offers health care coverage, 1019 00:55:32,999 --> 00:55:37,159 you could also have TRICARE as a secondary payer. 1020 00:55:37,159 --> 00:55:40,639 So, you could have TRICARE, you could pay for 1021 00:55:40,639 --> 00:55:42,599 TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Select-- whatever made sense for your family. 1022 00:55:43,109 --> 00:55:46,909 And then every time that you sought 1023 00:55:46,909 --> 00:55:49,919 care, your primary health insurance underneath that 1024 00:55:49,919 --> 00:55:53,159 other job, that entitlement, would kick in first. And then if it's also 1025 00:55:53,159 --> 00:55:56,639 a TRICARE covered service, then TRICARE would follow up and be the secondary payer 1026 00:55:56,639 --> 00:55:59,879 there. So that's another way that you could then further look to 1027 00:55:59,879 --> 00:56:03,199 reduce your health care costs. 1028 00:56:03,199 --> 00:56:03,789 WITTEN: Thanks for that tip. 1029 00:56:05,749 --> 00:56:06,229 Let's see. 1030 00:56:08,039 --> 00:56:12,079 We have a few FEDVIP questions that have been grouped, I think, by topic. 1031 00:56:12,079 --> 00:56:15,319 As a "gray-area" Reservist-- which I personally don't 1032 00:56:15,319 --> 00:56:18,759 quite know what that means-- as a "gray-area" Reservist, 1033 00:56:18,759 --> 00:56:22,959 I'm enrolled in FEDVIP dental and vision. I'm about to turn 60. Will I 1034 00:56:22,959 --> 00:56:24,279 need to reenroll in FEDVIP? 1035 00:56:26,199 --> 00:56:29,679 ZIM: For this one, you shouldn't need to reenroll in 1036 00:56:29,679 --> 00:56:32,839 FEDVIP because 1037 00:56:32,839 --> 00:56:35,119 you're already in a retired status for that. 1038 00:56:35,909 --> 00:56:39,119 If you're going to be making other changes to 1039 00:56:39,119 --> 00:56:42,239 your health care, you can follow up and just 1040 00:56:42,239 --> 00:56:45,589 validate that you're in the correct TRICARE Prime or Select 1041 00:56:45,589 --> 00:56:48,919 plan, because now that becomes an option for 1042 00:56:48,919 --> 00:56:52,119 you once you're age 60. But if you're already in dental 1043 00:56:52,119 --> 00:56:53,949 and vision, you shouldn't have an issue there. 1044 00:56:56,869 --> 00:56:58,349 WITTEN: Great. Thank you, Zelly. 1045 00:57:00,919 --> 00:57:04,399 Let's see here: While on active duty, 1046 00:57:04,399 --> 00:57:07,599 college students under the age of 23 are still covered by 1047 00:57:07,599 --> 00:57:10,639 TRICARE Prime. Does that change in retirement? 1048 00:57:10,639 --> 00:57:14,479 Do they have to transition to TYA? 1049 00:57:14,479 --> 00:57:17,919 I understood that TYA is commonly used for those that are ages 1050 00:57:17,919 --> 00:57:21,519 23 to 26. Is that different during retirement? 1051 00:57:21,519 --> 00:57:24,599 ZIM: No, that's all still accurate. So, 1052 00:57:24,599 --> 00:57:28,239 it doesn't matter whether the sponsor is on active duty 1053 00:57:28,239 --> 00:57:31,439 or they're retired for the rules of the TRICARE Young Adult plan. So the rules of 1054 00:57:31,439 --> 00:57:34,719 TRICARE Young Adult, just a couple of those to remember: 1055 00:57:34,719 --> 00:57:35,879 That young adult has to be 1056 00:57:36,349 --> 00:57:39,999 unmarried, they don't have employer-sponsored coverage, 1057 00:57:39,999 --> 00:57:43,199 and they have to be under age 1058 00:57:43,199 --> 00:57:46,359 26, and they're not enrolled 1059 00:57:46,359 --> 00:57:49,439 in school at that point. So, all of those rules that have to 1060 00:57:49,439 --> 00:57:52,719 do with TYA, those are tied to the young adult themselves 1061 00:57:52,719 --> 00:57:55,959 and not to the sponsor. So, everything that 1062 00:57:55,959 --> 00:57:59,309 was mentioned, you can still have a child who 1063 00:57:59,309 --> 00:58:02,319 has TRICARE Young Adult when you are a retiree. 1064 00:58:02,319 --> 00:58:05,449 Their status is just going to change on the back end, as showing that 1065 00:58:05,449 --> 00:58:08,229 their sponsor's retired, as opposed to their sponsor's on active duty. 1066 00:58:08,429 --> 00:58:11,719 WITTEN: Okay, great. That's good to know. I like this next 1067 00:58:11,719 --> 00:58:15,199 question: Does the entire family need to be on the same plan? 1068 00:58:15,199 --> 00:58:18,319 ZIM: Easy one. Answer is no, but I will give the caveat. We 1069 00:58:18,319 --> 00:58:21,479 did talk at the end about FEDVIP. So, for 1070 00:58:21,479 --> 00:58:24,759 the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Program, 1071 00:58:24,759 --> 00:58:28,359 oftentimes the family does need to be on the same plan. But when we're talking about TRICARE 1072 00:58:28,359 --> 00:58:31,449 Specifically, for Prime, Select, TRR, 1073 00:58:31,449 --> 00:58:34,719 TRS, all of our other plans, the whole family does not need to be 1074 00:58:34,719 --> 00:58:34,949 on the same plan. 1075 00:58:36,849 --> 00:58:40,169 WITTEN: All right, we're rounding the bend here. If you look at the clock, we're 1076 00:58:40,169 --> 00:58:44,119 coming up on 5:00. We're going to take 1077 00:58:44,119 --> 00:58:47,049 one more last, final question. 1078 00:58:48,799 --> 00:58:52,879 Let's make it a good one. They're all good, but let's 1079 00:58:52,879 --> 00:58:56,079 go out with a bang: Once I'm enrolled in 1080 00:58:56,079 --> 00:58:59,239 TRICARE Prime and then I decide to move to 1081 00:58:59,239 --> 00:59:02,399 another location, does moving from state to 1082 00:59:02,399 --> 00:59:05,639 state count as a Qualifying Life Event? Or am I only 1083 00:59:05,639 --> 00:59:08,879 allowed to change my type of retired insurance after 12 months 1084 00:59:09,309 --> 00:59:12,349 or during open enrollment? 1085 00:59:12,349 --> 00:59:15,439 ZIM: Good question. So, moving always is going to count as a Qualifying Life 1086 00:59:15,439 --> 00:59:18,839 Event, and this gives me an opportunity to just give you one 1087 00:59:18,839 --> 00:59:22,029 more tip that could be helpful. If you're moving and you have 1088 00:59:22,029 --> 00:59:25,079 TRICARE Prime, that means that you were living in a Prime Service Area. 1089 00:59:25,079 --> 00:59:28,599 If you're moving to another Prime Service Area, you can actually reach 1090 00:59:28,599 --> 00:59:31,749 out to your contractor and just do a PCM to 1091 00:59:31,749 --> 00:59:34,999 PCM change, which means you just get a new primary care manager 1092 00:59:34,999 --> 00:59:38,119 in the new location, rather than having to 1093 00:59:38,119 --> 00:59:38,389 reenroll 1094 00:59:39,279 --> 00:59:42,529 with a new enrollment period. So, 1095 00:59:42,529 --> 00:59:42,999 just to reiterate 1096 00:59:43,189 --> 00:59:46,769 on this one, if you're moving to another location, moving itself 1097 00:59:46,769 --> 00:59:49,999 is a Qualifying Life Event. But if you're moving from one Prime 1098 00:59:49,999 --> 00:59:53,279 Service Area to another Prime Service Area, that is just a change 1099 00:59:53,279 --> 00:59:56,439 in your primary care manager, and you can call your contractor and 1100 00:59:56,439 --> 00:59:59,559 make sure that you get that taken care of. 1101 00:59:59,559 --> 01:00:02,879 PHAM: This is Shane Pham, and I would just add that, 1102 01:00:02,879 --> 01:00:05,969 if you're moving 1103 01:00:05,969 --> 01:00:09,399 from a Prime Service Area to a Prime Service 1104 01:00:09,399 --> 01:00:12,669 Area within the same region, it's a PCM change. If you are 1105 01:00:12,669 --> 01:00:14,109 moving to a Prime Service Area 1106 01:00:14,359 --> 01:00:14,999 in a different region, 1107 01:00:15,229 --> 01:00:18,479 then you have to switch or 1108 01:00:18,479 --> 01:00:21,349 transfer your enrollment. 1109 01:00:22,199 --> 01:00:25,319 ZIM: Thank you, Shane. 1110 01:00:25,319 --> 01:00:28,569 WITTEN: Okay, great. All right. Well, thanks so much, everyone, 1111 01:00:28,569 --> 01:00:31,839 for sticking with us to the end. We have over 800 of you that 1112 01:00:31,839 --> 01:00:35,369 stuck it out. We're so glad that you're here, and I just 1113 01:00:35,369 --> 01:00:38,439 want to thank so much our experts. Zelly, before we 1114 01:00:38,439 --> 01:00:42,159 close out, is there anything else you'd like to share with our audience before we conclude? 1115 01:00:42,159 --> 01:00:45,679 ZIM: Really quickly, I'd like to thank the DHA Communications team for facilitating this 1116 01:00:45,679 --> 01:00:46,119 platform. 1117 01:00:46,309 --> 01:00:49,369 And a huge thank you to my colleagues for assisting with the Q&A. 1118 01:00:49,369 --> 01:00:52,559 And then, for those of you who are listening, I'd like to commend you for taking 1119 01:00:52,559 --> 01:00:55,719 the time to join us today, because approaching retirement is a huge 1120 01:00:55,719 --> 01:00:58,839 transition, and we really do want to make sure that you're well equipped to make 1121 01:00:58,839 --> 01:01:01,999 the best choices for your family. I trust that the information that 1122 01:01:01,999 --> 01:01:05,239 we shared today and the Q&A portion has been 1123 01:01:05,239 --> 01:01:08,879 helpful. And if you only hear me say two things about retirement today, hear these 1124 01:01:08,879 --> 01:01:12,279 two things: Keep your contact information current in DEERS, and 1125 01:01:12,279 --> 01:01:15,309 enroll in a health plan within 90 days of your retirement date. 1126 01:01:15,429 --> 01:01:18,799 And with that, congratulations to you and your family on your 1127 01:01:18,799 --> 01:01:21,879 retirement, and thank you very much for your service and for your sacrifice. 1128 01:01:21,879 --> 01:01:25,119 WITTEN: Thank you so much, Zelly. I also want to 1129 01:01:25,119 --> 01:01:28,279 thank her colleagues who joined us, Shane and Anne, for 1130 01:01:28,279 --> 01:01:31,599 sharing your knowledge and expertise with us today. And again, thanks 1131 01:01:31,599 --> 01:01:34,719 to all of you who joined us for participating in today's 1132 01:01:34,719 --> 01:01:37,919 webinar. If we didn't answer your question today -- and 1133 01:01:37,919 --> 01:01:41,199 there were a lot of questions that came in; we did our best to get through as many as 1134 01:01:41,199 --> 01:01:44,279 we could in the time allotted -- we invite you to visit 1135 01:01:44,279 --> 01:01:48,079 tricare.mil and tricare.mil/FAQ 1136 01:01:48,079 --> 01:01:50,869 for helpful responses to frequent beneficiary questions. 1137 01:01:51,469 --> 01:01:54,639 And as a reminder, you can find the slides from today's 1138 01:01:54,639 --> 01:01:57,879 webinar on TRICARE.mil/webinars. Keep an 1139 01:01:57,879 --> 01:02:00,919 eye on that page for a recording of this webinar as well, which 1140 01:02:00,919 --> 01:02:03,959 we'll post in the coming weeks. This does conclude 1141 01:02:03,959 --> 01:02:07,729 today's webinar on using your TRICARE options in retirement. 1142 01:02:07,729 --> 01:02:11,519 I also want to wish everyone a safe and reflective 1143 01:02:11,519 --> 01:02:14,749 Memorial Day weekend. Thank you so much. And 1144 01:02:14,749 --> 01:02:15,229 we're out here.