Q. My husband recently left active duty and went into the Army Reserve. We are on the Transition Assistance Management Program benefits, which will expire soon. At that time, I'll be 33 weeks pregnant. We will enroll in Tricare Reserve Select in time to prevent any lapse in our medical coverage. I am now being seen for prenatal care at our local MTF; can I finish out my pregnancy and delivery with the doctor I am seeing there?

A. Whether a family member may receive health care in a military treatment facility under Tricare Reserve Select depends on whether the particular MTF has available space and resources. The fact that you are eligible for care in your local MTF under TAMP is not an ironclad guarantee that you can continue to be seen in that MTF once your beneficiary status shifts from TAMP to TRS.

Bottom line: You'll need to check with your MTF, as each MTF commander makes this call. It's the holiday season ... perhaps your MTF commander is of particularly good cheer.

If you can, in fact, continue to be seen in that MTF once you transition to TRS, you should be aware that your care will not continue to be free; your normal Tricare Reserve Select cost shares and co-pays would apply. The MTF can give you more information on potential costs and billing procedures.

Q. My husband and I have been separated for quite some time. He is the Tricare sponsor. I am pregnant but he is not the father. He still takes care of me and our other two sons together. Will Tricare cover prenatal care and birth if the father's name is not placed on the birth certificate?

A. As long as you remain married to your husband, as long as he still supports you, and as long as you are registered as a dependent under his military sponsorship in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, then you will still be covered by Tricare.

The child you are carrying now would be his stepchild. And again, as long as you are married to your husband, a stepchild would be eligible for Tricare coverage under your husband's sponsorship.

Should you divorce your husband, both you and the stepchild would lose Tricare coverage unless you meet several very specific criteria: The marriage must have lasted at least 20 years; the military member must have served at least 20 years; and the marriage and the member's service must have overlapped by at least 20 years. If those three conditions are met, then a former spouse would retain Tricare eligibility under her own sponsorship indefinitely, as long as she did not remarry. This is known as the "20/20/20" rule.

Get more information from the managed-care contractor for the Tricare region in which you live. Customer service contacts for all Tricare regions 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. Get Tricare advice any time at http://blogs.militarytimes.com/tricarehelp/.

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