Retired, Tri-Care Extra, Free until I turn 65 when I’m “forced” to buy into Medicare Part B and go “Tri-Care for life” plan.
I’ve had to use my Tri-Care less than half a dozen times since I retired from the USAF in 94. Live less than 40 miles from a VA regional hospital. Never have had a need to use that VA Hospital. Tri-Care works well , my own doctors, local hospital versus VA hospital.
Walk in, show my DD2AF ID card. Simple, Free shy of a 10 or 15 dollar co-pay.....
Easy.
Free health care works fine for me.
I’m with you (retired from the USN in ‘94). TriCare works exceptionally well; never had an issue. Not looking forward to TFL. The only thing I know about my local VA hospital is that a lot of the local moochers hang out on the access road begging for handouts; no vet in his/her right mind would do that.
“Free health care works fine for me.”
You do know that it isnt free, right?
I’m still Tri-Care (for another year) and my wife has been Tri-Care For Life for a little over a year - both are great deals, especially since we can get most prescriptions for ‘free” via the military pharmacy. It recently cost me $25 for prostate surgery (cancer - cleared) at a local hospital (performed by a military surgeon. and $0 for a hip replacement. Wife can go anywhere that takes Medicare and Tri-Care picks up the 20% Medicare doesn’t cover.
Ditto. I’ve used Tricare Prime since I retired from the AF in 2004 and it’s a pretty decent system. I say move the veterans’ health care system to a Tricare model as well.