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Tricare Help: If Tricare won’t cover it, there may be a reason

Q. My wife is subject to disabling headaches that are increasing in frequency and severity. Tricare doctors have been unable to discover the cause or a remedy other than narcotics for pain. We have seen ads for doctors in Mexico who can treat many things using methods that are not approved in the U.S. If American doctors are unable to provide any relief, will Tricare pay any amount toward the costs for treatment in one of those foreign clinics?

A. Although Tricare Standard is allowed to pay for foreign medical care, please think about this: Even though your wife may be desperate for relief, there may be solid scientific reasons that certain kinds of treatments are not legal in the U.S.

It is very doubtful that Tricare would pay any part of the costs of treatment methods not acceptable to the U.S. medical profession. I strongly advise that you carefully research any foreign clinics offering seemingly miraculous cures.

Many services online specialize in consumer protection. You can start your research at the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer protection site for health services: www.ftc.gov/bcp/menus/consumer/health.shtm.

You also should contact Tricare before proceeding.

Q I’m afraid of identity theft. I’ve tried putting only the last four digits of my husband’s Social Security number on medical forms, but Tricare sends them back. My husband says his grandfather had something called a serial number, which they used instead of the Social Security number. Why doesn’t the Army go back to that system?

A. I heard more than a year ago that the Defense Department was going to start using some form of identification that would not require the beneficiary’s Social Security number. I called the Pentagon’s Office of Health Affairs about the matter and was told that the Defense Department has made some changes in the numbers on military ID cards and maybe some other forms, but there has been no movement to implement such changes with regard to filing Tricare claims.

I could not get an explanation of why Tricare continues to lag, and I don’t know whether any efforts are being made to effect changes.

Those of us who use Medicare have the same problem; we must disclose our Social Security number to unknown persons for claims to be filed.

Q. I know that it is cost-prohibitive for Tricare to individually notify 9 million beneficiaries of every program change. How can an individual stay current on changes to Tricare as they occur?

A. The official Tricare Web site at www.tricare.mil provides a wealth of printed information. Go to www.tricare.mil/tricaresmart, and click the left box that says Tricare Products Online. Then click on your Tricare region on the map to get a menu of publications for your region.

To receive Tricare news releases and fact sheets as soon as they are published, go to www.tricare.mil/RSS.

Q. My employer has just enrolled workers in a new health insurance plan. They told me I must provide a copy of the federal law that says Tricare is always last payer. Please tell me where to get that information.

A. The insurer will require official information, so telephone contact would not be appropriate here. Please advise your employer to contact the Tricare Management Activity, in writing, at 16401 E. Centretech Parkway, Aurora, CO 80011-9043.

Write to James E. Hamby Jr. at Tricare Help, Times News Service, 6883 Commercial Drive, Springfield, VA 22159; or tricarehelp@atpco.com. In e-mail, include the word “Tricare” in the subject line and do not attach files.