tricare prime question:

forevanmyhrt

I was told when I moved to our current duty station that I had to be seen at the navy hospital because we live close enough to it and they weren't full when I moved here.. My problem is: I strongly dislike my ob doctor and the nurses I've seen so far.. my friend said she looked around and found a civilian doctor in our area that accepts tricare and goes there instead of the hospital. I'm thinking about doing this myself, but I'm afraid that I will end up being charged for something. Has anyone else done this? I really want to, I'm just afraid it'll bite me in the ass...

forevanmyhrt

Oh to clarify, I know that if I do this that I need to get a referral from the other doctor to see an ob.

somastar

I work for a drs office and as long as the civilian drs office pars with ur insurance it shouldnt be a problem. I work for a specialist and those pt never even have copays. If u have any question all ur insurance company.

sherbear81

Yes....same sitiation here in the ft hood area! I had to go to the tricare office. I wanted an off post pcm because I knew I didn't want to do another military ob. I put in a request and told them why I didn't want to be on post which was my doctor couldn't even access the resources available to them on their intranet. I was able to get changed right away then when I got prego (we were trying) I got a civilian ob referral. My civilian dr office said sometimes it gets kicked back to on post ob and you have to do the same thing....put in a request and tell them why you don't like them. Also, look online and read what the tricare standard is and if they haven't met it that is a good reason to be approved to go off post....that's what I did at fort benning. Message me if you have more questions...I don't think the tricare varies to much from army to other services.

sands3

I'm currently being seen at the naval hospital here. My pcm referred me there. I'm sure you can switch if you tell your pcm that your unhappy or call tricare and talk to them. I hear its pretty easy to switch. I've never needed to myself though.

forevanmyhrt

Thank you! It's all so confusing and annoying... when we lived in san Diego, they automaticly gave me a civilian doctor because the navy hospitals were full, so I was shocked when I moved here that I couldn't have one again. When we went in to the tricare office (which is at the hospital) they told me I didn't have a choice. I think I'm going to call them up to see what they say.Hopefully they let me get away from military doctors without a fight. My husband agrees with me about the crappy care given to us.. he says every time we go in he feels like cattle, like they treat us as if we aren't special. Also, I've asked them multiple questions about my pregnancy to which they answered by looking them up on the internet. I could've done that!

sands3

Where are yall stationed? I've only had 1 appt so far at the naval hospital and I had a pretty good experience. I guess it just depends on where you are.

1_mama_squared

Switch to Tricare Standard... then you can go out in town to a doc that accepts Tricare. That's what I did, I REFUSE to go to the Naval Hospital.

forevanmyhrt

Were stationed at bremerton, wa I've only had two. The first one was stupid with a nurse who knew nothing and then we had an ultrasound and she just said that everything looked fine. Didn't point out the heartbeat didn't give us any information, nothing. We were there for 15 minutes tops. I have an ob appointment tomorrow and we will see how that goes. My other problem is that they told me that my ob doctor is leaving in June, so I will have a different doctor later. I will check out standard instead, thank you!

SemperFiwife

I have tricare prime and all my Drs are civilian, including my daughter's pediatrician. Im stationed @ Camp Pendleton and I refuse to go to the Naval hospital. They can never answer your questions or the just tell you to check stuff online. This is what I did, Go to your family Dr and request to be referred to a civilian Obgyn, tell them about your experience, that's what helped me change Drs. I went to the tricare office in the naval hospital and told them that I wanted a civilian family Dr, because the one I had was just horrible, and so they changed it, after that my Dr referred me to an Obgyn when we found out I was preggo. I pay nothing! And trust me, it can be done. I would go to the tricare office and insist. I hope that helps!

mandac10

If you don't want to see the military doctors you can c one off post. Get rid of tricare prime and get just tricare. Everything is covered except when u have the baby you will have to pay $25 for the 1st night and $16 each additional night. Well worth it! That's what im doing

caitiecakes

Well I didn't like my ob my first pregnancy..but this time I have a great doctor...but u can switch to another ob at the military hospital..at least we can here in the naval hospital.

Surprise_Due8_28

I need to switch ob too but I can't switch to standard. Standard wont cover my shots and at $1500 dollars a week I can't afford to not have prime.

armywife3

Call tricare and find out if u can b4 u do it. Theyve been a pain n my butt ever since i got pregnant....they changed their ob/gyn rules so much from the last time i was pregnant...but anytime im unsure i call

armywife3

by the way i have prime with a civilian doc and i dnt have to pay anything!

dashneigh

I'm not really for sure about how it works my husband usually takes care of that crap but I do know we a had a son before the army and he is three just fine but back in October we had our lil girl at an army hospital and they said she was fine but she passed away at the beginning of this year so I'm not going back to an army hospital with this pregnancy cause I think it was there fault

saysay

@forevanmyhrt I work for Tricare...just my advise, don't go off Tricare Prime. While it's nice to be able to go wherever you want, the cost could be more than you think just incase something happens during delivery...etc. However, to make things easier for you. Call Tricare (I wouldn't go to your local tricare office, I'd call) and tell them you're requesting portability to an off-post physician. Have the name of the physician and all the information ready. Make sure they're a Tricare Prime provider and that they will accept you as a patient. Don't use the words "I don't like...", simply state "conflict of interest". It's basically the words Tricare doesn't turn down. Hope it helps.... good luck.

saysay

@Surprise_Due8_28 See my message above. It may help you also. good luck.

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saysay

@gatorbob I'm currently working with Humana-South but originally came from Tricare Management Headquarters in Colorado.

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saysay

@gatorbob Any services received on post will be covered. Was it on or off post? If its something that was done off-post and it's under your maternity coverage, it's possible that referrals crossed during your portability between regions. Service coverages are generally the same and sometimes what happens is your portability is processed before or after your maternity referrals are processed and the billing gets denied. That is of course its off-post. The regional number for Humana South is 1-800-444-5445. Good luck and let me know if I can help anymore.

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