I’ve been meaning to get around to this post for some time now. At first glance one might winder why I am delving down into the ‘weeds’ of general entitlements when I originally intended to stick with the finer points of valuation, net present values, divorce and dissolution. Well the truth is, judging by real-world problems, the basics are where a lot of folks need help.
Not long ago a lawyer friend called me to ask advice about a client of his. The client was a retired Air Force officer who had gone into government civilian service after hanging up his uniform. Later in life, as will sometimes happen, this officer/civil servant and his wife of many years parted company. As part of the settlement the ex-officer was required to provide his ex-wife with health insurance. The client also decided to retie from Civil Service and as a matter of course kept his Federal Employee heath benefits (FEHB) insurance … because, well, everybody does, don’t they?
The issue my friend was looking for other opinions on was the fact that his client, paying for the ex-wife’s retained FEHB insurance (as an ex-spouse she can carry it but the cost is much higher) and his own FEHB policy, was paying somewhere around $700 a month in health insurance bills. My first thought was TRICARE, and it turns out neither of them have really given it any consideration.
What is TRICARE? It’s the program that the military provides for active duty and retired service personnel, their eligible family members and survivors’ healthcare, Active Duty, Reservists, Retirees and former spouses all have some potential benefits. The program itself is well documented Here:
There’s an excellent user-level handbook available: I highly recommend all those who don’t know and those who think they know TRIOCARE take a look … I can virtually guarantee you’ll learn something. I’m going to spend the next few days going through the eligibility criteria, basic programs and overseas programs that TRICARE provides.
But what about my retired officer friend … we’ve left him hanging. Turns out he was able to enroll in TRICARE Prime for a total of something under $500 a year rather than more than that per month, and cover his ex-spouse as well. He also chose to buy a supplementary commercial policy for about $50 a month that insured against any ‘gaps’ between what TRICARE paid and actual costs. So he went from about $700 per month to about $90 a month on an annual basis and he actually had better coverage for both himself and his ex. Also, and I think this is a big reason a lot of retirees aren’t making good use of TRICARE, he did not “give up” his or his ex-wife’s FEHB. The Office of Personnel Management )OPM) allows those covered by TRICARE and some other government benefit programs to “suspend” their FRHB coverage and keep it in the background at no cost. Should our friend or his ex-wife ever decide than FEHB coverage is the better deal they can re-instate their coverage during any FEHB Open Season. Thinking back over this situation I’m wondering why I didn’t get a cut … think what TRICARE meant to this fellow’s bottom line? Tomorrow …Eligibility.
Disclaimer
As always remember that this site, although written by a retiree with substantial experience in the school of hard knocks, it is for personal, lay opinions and informational purposes only. If you have a legal question you should seek help from a legal professional. If you have questions involving current or future values of pensions you need an actuary or competent pension valuation expert. If your questions are tax-related, seek a competent tax advisor. In other cases, I recommend the base chaplain.
If you really need an accurate reading on a case involving these issues, I’d suggest you call Bill — 719-475-7529
Related posts:
- More Details on TRICARE Plans
- TRICARE Flavors and How To Taste Them
- Military Retirement — Special Six-Part Series
- Military Retirement — Special Six-Part Series — Part 5 — Spouse Benefits
- Military Retirement — Special Six-Part Series — Part 3 — Disability Benefits
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