benefits/health/offduty_tricarehelp_051109w
Tricare Help: Long-term care coverage is limited
Q. What are Tricare’s provisions for long-term health care insurance?
A. If you’re referring to what is commonly called nursing home care, Tricare’s part is limited.
Nursing home care usually means residence in a protected and secure facility that provides general nursing services and assistance with the activities of daily living. The facility provides those services to residents more or less equally. It does not provide medical care with the goal of making the resident well.
Federal law and regulation do not allow Tricare to pay for those services by a long-term care facility or nursing home.
However, residents of long-term care facilities do retain all the Tricare benefits they’d be entitled to if they were living independently. Tricare will cover doctor visits, medically necessary and appropriate diagnostic testing, lab and X-ray services, prescription drugs, medically necessary admissions to an acute care hospital, and other Tricare-covered services.
It is the costs of the nursing home that Tricare may not cover. Unfortunately, those services are usually the most costly part of long-term care.
Q When I get my yearly exam, I prefer my doctor’s female physician assistant to perform my Pap test. Will Tricare cover her services?
A. If your doctor is a Tricare-authorized provider and the physician assistant is an employee working under his supervision and direction, the doctor will bill for all the office’s services. If Tricare covers the particular Pap test in your case, the fact that the physician assistant performs the procedure should make no difference in Tricare’s ability to pay.
Write to James E. Hamby Jr. at Tricare Help, Times News Service, 6883 Commercial Drive, Springfield, VA 22159 or at tricarehelp@militarytimes.com.
Digg
Contests and Promotions
Win A Timex Ironman® Triathlon Bodylink Trail Runner Watch
Enter and WIN...The Timex Ironman Triathlon Bodylink Trail Runner is ideal for monitoring your heart rate and distance when running or to use as a GPS device.
Marketplace
Military Times Gear Shop
TRU SPEC Fleece Jacket LinerDue to popular demand the 100% polyester micro fleece jacket liner for the Gen I H20 ECWCS Parka can now be purchased separately. Great by itself, this fleece will be a great addition in colder climates.
Price: $20.99
Military Discounts
Save on your purchases!
In honor of your military service, you can find regular and name brand products at a special discount.






