Tricare is very good. Pays 75 percent of the bill. You will have to get a supplement to cover the rest until you (and your spouse) turn 65. Most military associations sell it... Amn Military Assn, NCOA, AFSA, take your pick. Upon turning 65 you must pick up medicare part B, but then
tricare picks up 100 percent of what medicare don’t pay. You do not need part D; however, the copay makes it almost mandatory that you use the DOD express scripts mail system for your prescriptions.
TriCare is far better than anything you’ll find on an Obamacare exchange, and most programs available in the private sector. As someone else noted, your annual deductible is roughly equal to what most people pay for coverage in a single month. I speak from personal experience; my son and daughter-in-law pay more than $500 a month for coverage for themselves—with a $5000 deductible.
A few notes about TriCare. First, the advice about getting a supplement is spot-on. In my own case, I have TriCare for Life and I’m a state employee, so my out-of-pocket expenses are minimal. My wife is also on the state plan and is covered by TriCare and Medicare, so she pays virtually nothing for healthcare. The supplement is a solid investment, and there are plenty of companies that offer excellent plans.
Second, if you’re retiring in an area away from military bases, do a spot check to see if doctors other than your GP take Tricare. My wife and I reside in an area that’s home to one of the largest military communities in the nation, so it’s difficult to find a doctor who isn’t enrolled in the program. But, in places where there isn’t a significant military population, you may discover that many doctors don’t participate due to low reimbursements and slow payments by the government.
We discovered this the hard way when my wife fell and broke her arm while visiting our son, who lives more than 100 miles from the nearest military base. She only had Tricare at that point and none of the local orthopedic specialists accepted the plan. Tricare suggested we pay everything up front and get reimbursed. My wife decided to tough it out and flew back home and saw an orthopedist in our area.
Also, as with any plan, there are coverage limitations. For example, Tricare pays nothing towards long-term care. If you don’t want to go the VA route (and can’t afford to pay out-of-pocket), consider federal long term care insurance, which you should qualify for. Many people took a pass when it was first introduced because better options were available. Now, a decade later, I’ve had financial advisers tell me it’s probably the best option for federal retirees. Ditto for the Survivor Benefit Program (SBP).
Thanks for your service and count your blessings—Tricare is far from perfect, but it’s better that the healthcare most Americans are now stuck with, thanks to Zero. But keep your eye on the prize; there are serious efforts afoot to push military retirees and dependents into Obamacare, to help prop up the system.
Excellent summary.
You know the catastrophic cap is only $3000? You would be ensuring $3000 if you get supplemental. Not worth it in my opinion unless I’m missing something. I’ve never had a problem with Tricare standard and just started using Expressscipts which seems to be okay.
At his current age it will be 66 or 67 depending on what congress does this next year to SS retirement. I was born in 1948, and expected SS at 65, well turns out it’s 66.
What T’s me off is NO COLA raise in either hubby’s Military pension or our SS. While congress got a big fat raise and welfare queens, illegals and refugees got raises.
Food cost are double or more than they were just last year. Property taxes are going up, co-pays went up last year too.