Q. Is correction of "tongue tie" with laser covered under Tricare Prime?

A. Tricare Prime does cover treatment of total or complete ankyloglossia (tongue tie) to remove extra connective flesh under the tongue that can cause young children to have trouble swallowing or speaking.

Two things to note. First, there is disagreement and a lack of objective data in the medical community about the need to surgically correct partial tongue tie; anything short of total or complete tongue tie generally is considered to be of no medical value. As such, Tricare Prime does not cover treatment of partial tongue tie.

Second, ankyloglossia that is considered a problem mainly because it interferes with breastfeeding generally falls into the partial tongue tie category that is not covered.

Tricare considers ankyloglossia correction to be an "adjunctive dental service." Prior authorization is required for all such procedures. The exact manner of treatment is something to discuss with your Tricare Prime primary care manager.

Q. I'm a "gray area" retiree who turned 60 in January. My retirement pay came through a few weeks after my birthday. I thought I'd get something from Tricare now that my wife and I are eligible, but nothing has come. I'm eager to sign up but I don't know how or where to do that.

A. The first step is to enroll both yourself and your wife in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System and obtain proper ID cards. If you're not sure whether you're already registered, call the main DEERS support office in California at 800-538-9552.

Once that's done, you and she are "in" Tricare. How you access your benefits will depend on which plan you prefer. The basic choices are Tricare Standard or Prime.

Standard is Tricare's version of a fee-for-service plan; Tricare Prime is the military's version of an HMO.

If you live in a Prime service area, you can use this option, which requires establishing a primary care provider who would provide referrals for any specialty care needed. Tricare Prime requires an annual enrollment fee, and its choice of providers is more limited than Standard, but it tends to have lower out-of-pocket costs.

More information on your Tricare options is here: www.tricare.mil/plans/healthplans.aspx

You can also directly compare costs and features of Tricare options here: www.tricare.mil/plans/compareplans.aspx

Your main source of information going forward is the managed-care contractor for the Tricare region in which you live. Contact information for all Tricare regional contractors can be found here: www.tricare.mil/contactus/callus.aspx.

Email tricarehelp@militarytimes.com. Include the word "Tricare" in the subject line and do not attach files.

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