Tricare Help: What happens if widow gets pregnant? - Marine Corps Health Issues | Marine Corps Times

Tricare Help: What happens if widow gets pregnant?

Q. My husband died on active duty in 2007. Our two sons and I use Tricare. I don’t plan on marrying for a couple of years, but what if I get pregnant?

A. As the unremarried widow of a deceased active-duty uniformed service member, you are eligible for Tricare. Under current law, you will continue to be eligible for Tricare through your deceased sponsor unless you marry again.

If you remarry, your Tricare eligibility under that sponsorship will terminate at midnight the day before your remarriage and cannot be restored, even if the second marriage ends in divorce or the death of your second spouse.

The bottom line is that your maternity care can be covered by Tricare for as long as you remain eligible. There are no penalties of any kind. However, your baby would not be eligible for Tricare.

Q. My wife has issues with sleeplessness, weight gain and possible hormone imbalance. She has been seen at our local base hospital a dozen times with no resolution of the problem, and people there will not send her off base for another opinion or possibly to see a specialist. How can we get a Tricare referral?

A. Tricare is unrelated to military health services. It has no authority to require or even recommend that the military refer a patient to civilian care or specialists.

If you and your wife have a complaint about care she received at the military hospital, go through the chain of command at that hospital first. If that doesn’t work, ask for guidance about the next step for filing a complaint.

You may want to ask for advice from Tricare headquarters. You should write to Tricare Management Activity, 16401 E. Centretech Parkway, Aurora, CO 80011-9043.

Q. My father is retired from the military, and I had coverage until my last doctor’s appointment, when my ID card was taken away because it had expired. My father went to try to get me another one and was told since I am not a student, I am not eligible for Tricare. I am pregnant now. Am I still not eligible for Tricare?

A. There is a new Tricare program available for certain unmarried children of active-duty, retired or deceased uniformed service personnel who do not meet the age or student status requirements of the older programs.

Unlike older programs, the Tricare Young Adult Program has more restrictive eligibility rules and is more expensive. You can find out more at the program’s official website.

Write to Tricare Help, Times News Service, 6883 Commercial Drive, Springfield, VA 22159; or click here to email us. In email, include the word “Tricare” in the subject line and do not attach files. Get Tricare advice anytime on our blog.