tricare

We'll discuss a whole range of topics, including: 

• The Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP).
• Tricare access at all stages of life.
• Why the Incapacitated Designation could leave you interacting with Medicaid instead.
• How constant moves and waiver waitlists can sometimes keep military families perpetually paying for services out-of-pocket.
• How Rich’s son and his family use his ABLE account.
• How they’re using supplemental needs trusts.
• A life lesson in why it is so important to educate your extended family members on asset tests and best asset sheltering practices.
• 2015 changes to Survivor Benefit Plans (SBPs) that allow you to pass on the benefit without impacting SSI.
• How you might end up knowing more about disability in the military than the military ‘experts you end up interfacing with.

Arianne’s friend’s GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/eliahna-Torres

Check out Rich’s photography: https://www.photographybyrichdavis.com/

Doug Nordman’s books: https://amzn.to/3NSIzhc *

Kate Horrell, the Military Finance Coach: https://www.katehorrell.com/

Supplemental Needs Trust Episode:  https://momautismmoney.com/special-needs-trusts/

ABLE Account Episode: https://momautismmoney.com/able-accounts/

Episode with Medicaid Researchers: https://momautismmoney.com/autism-medicaid/

How to Apply for SSI Episode: https://momautismmoney.com/successfully-apply-ssi-ssdi/

Like Mom Autism Money on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MomAutismMoney

Full Episode Transcript: https://momautismmoney.com/military-autistic-child

*Affiliate link. Thank you for supporting the podcast!

IN THE NEWS: RIP Betty White (and it’s not our fault); Reflecting on our podcast; Biggest military stories of 2021 review, including the January 6th Capitol Riot; The botched U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan; The Accountable Marine; Russian buildup on the Ukraine border; Extremism and CRT in the military; New Tricare charges; Army vet scams the VA; and more.

Show notes at https://thedigressionpodcast.com/69

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At age 65  Americans are eligible for Medicare and most  must enroll Medicare Part B or face a stiff premium penalty. You can delay enrolling in Part B if you or your spouse are working and covered by a workplace group health plan with 20 or more employees. In that case, you would need to enroll in Medicare Part B within 8 months of stopping work or losing your workplace health coverage, which ever is sooner in order to avoid penalty.  The penalty is 10% increase in premiums for every 12 months you delay, for the rest of you life.

If you are a federal employee  you can carry your  Federal Employee Health Benefit (FEHB)  into retirement and are not required to sign up for Medicare.  You can  keep FEHB and sign up for Medicare for more complete coverage. There are pros and cons to to the different strategies. But it’s beyond today’s discussion. 

f you are a military retiree and federal government employee you have the option of using FEHB or Tricare for Life when reach age 65. Listen to my Episode 5 for pros and cons if it applies to you. https://www.buzzsprout.com/934996/4770596

The main reason I’m focussing on military Tricare for Life is that it often catches retired military off guard. It’s like a Medicare/Tricare shotgun wedding. Also know as wrap around coverage. Key points:

1. The Tricare plan you have now ends at 65, period.
2. You are required to enroll in Medicare Parts A and B, if you want continued Tricare health insurance. (Which you should.
3. Medicare Part A is free. Medicare Part B will cost you. The standard Part B premium is $148.50 a month. This fee is based on your annual income and is higher after certain tresholds. This is allot more than the Tricare Standard or Prime  yearly fees  You won’t have any  yearly fees to pay to Tricare under Tricare for Life, but will pay premiums to Medicare for Part B. 
4. But it’s unfair to only compare annual fees and premiums. Tricare for Life is wrap around insurance. What that means is that Mediare and Tricare for Life work together to pay for your healthcare. Medicare pays first. What they don’t cover automatically gets passed to Tricare. Some things Medicare doesn’t cover, but Tricare for Life does. And visa versa. There are a few things neither Medicare or Tricare cover, but nearly every thing is paid for between the two with no copay or cost share. With Tricare for Life, there are no copays or cost shares that you have with regular Tricare.
5. Also Tricare for Life covers you overseas. Medicare does not pay outside of the US and some territories. So if you will be living outside the US part or all of the time, Tricare for Life has you covered as the primary payer.
6. Eligible family members stay on Tricare Standard or Prime until age 65 when they must sign up for Medicare Part A and B themselves and switch to Tricare for Life.
7. Be careful when using Tricare for Life and Veterans Affairs health providers for non-service related care. Because VA providers are not allowed to bill Medicare, you can’t be reimbursed through Tricare for Life for any care from a VA provider, you’d pay for any VA expenses out of pocket.

Great resources and details can be found on the Tricare and Medicare websites, as well as my Episode 5 podcast.

All about Tricare for Life:  https://tricare.mil/tfl

Medicare basics and signing up:

https://www.medicare.gov/basics/get-started-with-medicare

Medicare Part B premiums:

https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/part-b-costs

TIPS FROM DR. PROULX

You are your own advocate to get the care you need. Your PCM doesn't always know exactly what you need unless you speak their language, so here are a few tips to move the process along or skip it entirely! 

1. When you go to your PCM for something, write down the top 3 things you want to achieve from the appointment. You are in control of the outcome.

2. Research the medical term of what you think is going on. If you speak their language, they won't have to guess what is going on. 

3. If you believe you need to see a specialist, you don't necessarily have to see a PCM. Contact the specialist you want (make sure they take TriCare) and have their staff get the referral from your PCM. Its their job!

HELP JEN GROW HER FAMILY!

Vote for her to win the Ms. Health and Fitness competition and receive $20K by clicking below

VOTE FOR JEN TO WIN 
Ms Health & Fitness

MEET JEN

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Jen, hi! 
I am a Certified Personal Trainer, Women's Health Specialist, and Certified Nutrition Coach and am lucky enough to run my own small business helping empower women in the abilities of their own bodies. 

I am currently in a competition called Ms Health & Fitness, and would love and appreciate any support I can rally up from all of you fellow military women and spouses! Why is your support important? The winner of this competition wins $20k, which would be incredibly beneficial for my husband and I continuing to grow our family. That precious boy you see in the photo above with me was brought into our lives via embryo adoption. To sum up what embryo adoption is if you haven't heard of it: we legally adopted embryos from another couple, completed a frozen embryo transfer to me, I got pregnant, and now we have Colton! He is our ray of sunshine and hope after our journey going through infertility. While not as expensive as traditional adoption, embryo adoption and the medical expenses involved in frozen embryo transfers can rack up quick. 

As we prepare and plan for our next adoption, I wanted to see if I could do something big to help us out. So I took a leap and signed up to compete in this contest. You can click the link in the episode notes and submit a "free vote" every single day for me if you feel so inclined. You can also purchase "Warrior Votes" where each $1 donated equals 1 vote for me. All proceeds for Warrior Votes are donated to the Homes for Wounded Warriors Foundation

If you've read all of this, thank you for your time! And if you take the time to help support me at the link below, thank you so much in advance!!

WHAT IS EMBRYO ADOPTION?

Embryo adoption is when a couple chooses to give their embryo a chance for life by providing another couple who may be incapable of conceiving naturally a chance to become parents. The form of adoption allows the woman receiving the embryos an opportunity to experience pregnancy and the birth of a child.

WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR EMBRYO ADOPTION?

• Find an embryo adoption agency
• Interview with the selected agency
• Submit your application package
• Receive a background check
• Conduct a home study
• Choose your donor

The average cost of embryo adoption and medical implantation is $20,000.

CONTACT JEN

FITNESS WEBSITE: https://jlowellfit.com/

IG: @_jensjourneys_

FB: @Jen Lowell

Space Force completes its first mission; No movement for the military; North Korea wants help with coronavirus cases it doesn’t have; Military COVID19 cases top civilian; The Air Force opens a new boot camp; Pentagon publishes pandemic guidance for commanders; The military pitches in with masks and vents; The Navy provides Comfort and Mercy to those in need; Billions for Defense and VA in emergency stimulus package; TRICARE COVID19 test kit scam; Countries using phones to track virus patients; and soon the US will, too; Army and Navy testing the recall waters; Power with others or some shit; New Prez for Top Aces

Show notes at https://thedigressionpodcast.com/19

Sound-off! with questions or comments!

Support the show at Patreon! 

In Episode #11 we continue our discussion on transformation in healthcare with senior executives in the Federal and Defense health space.  Guests include CAPTAIN Gabriel T. Brown, USN (North Capital Area Regional CIO, Defense Health Agency) and Dr Kenyon Crowley - Deputy Director, Center for Health Information and Decision Systems (CHIDS) at the University of Maryland College Park - Smith Business School.  CAPTAIN Brown shares his military health leadership journey and discusses the current enterprise transformation and medical treatment facility consolidation underway within the Defense Health Agency (www.dha.mil). Dr Kenyon Crowley shares insight into how the new graduate program prepares IT professionals to address the strategic and operational components of organizational and system transformation within complex, large scale health organizations.

SHOW NOTES

Episode Overview

Guest Intros

Captain Brown's Journey in Health IT

Scale and Transformation - Drivers for Defense Health Agency (DHA) Transformation

Kaiser and Data Sharing

Introduction of University of Maryland College Park graduate program in Strategic and Transformational IT

Evolution of Health IT 

Agile in Healthcare, Digital Transformation

Data Sharing and mHealth Patient Story  - hip surgery, 70 year old patient

Transformation to Consumer Driven Healthcare

Consumer Landscape & Trends

Care that is tailored to an individual

AI (artificial intelligence) to create vale and use cases

AI Implementation 

AI in Defense Health Agency, Data Discovery - Womack AMC and 

Transferring Data and Efficiency

SPONSORSHIP MESSAGE

Thank you to our sponsor www.hcdi.com for the generous support of this episode.  HCD International is an award-winning WOSB that has supported national, state and local quality improvement and healthcare transformation programs for over 20 years. Today HCDI shares innovative thought leadership to the nation’s largest government and commercial payers create high performance quality improvement services for some of the most vulnerable populations in health.

• For more information on Defense Health Agency visit - www.dha.mil
• For more information on University of Maryland College Park CHIDS graduate program in Strategic and Transformational IT visit -  go.umd.edu.healthleaders

Katie Rachanow leads the Military Birth Resource Network at the largest overseas installment in Europe, and has specialized knowledge of the military birth system.
Katie is a doula, yoga instructor, and Evidence Based Birth instructor practicing in Germany. She recently moved there following a two-year tour in Colorado Springs and a five-year tour in the UK. 

Katie shares how having her first child in the UK launched her career as a birth worker, and how she operates exclusively in a military setting. She notes that the main problem for birth in the military is continuity of care. “Everybody is moving around constantly - nobody ever stays put.” Additionally, people often end up birthing on their own, as their partner may be deployed or on duty, and their families cannot afford to travel to where they are. “I’ve had a lot of instances where moms have been alone - just by themselves - until it’s time for delivery,” she said. Together, Katie and I brainstorm ways to promote funding of doula support for military members, and build relationships among birth workers in new communities.

Connect with Katie on her website, Facebook, LinkedIn and the EBB Instructor Directory.

For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership and our Instructor program.