OT: Military retirees TRDP is ending Updated Information on page 2

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

Oh I'm totally with you. The retirement alone covers my mortgage and car payment plus some and I really have no other bills.

I know I'll have to go to Medicare once I hit that age but right now I pay for a Tricare supplement and between the two I'm usually totally covered. I haven't paid a cent for all the medical service after the dog wrecked me this winter. Separated AC joint, jacked thumb, etc. The dog owner's opened up an insurance claim for me but since it's not cost me anything I haven't needed to use it.

I can also thank the military for getting me into bikes. By killing my knees, back and left foot it drove me from running to bikes!

Thanks for your service too Pete. I have no regrets about the time in. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.

I think the bigger issue is why isn't dental(and eye care) a part of 'health care coverage'..makes no sense to me..healthy mouth, healthy person..

So Would I..benefits or not.

[el cheapo]

Dental and eye care not included because (drum roll please)....$$$$$$$$. Vets are a big chunk of the government budget so you have accountants working overtime to figure out how to put the screws to us. Kind of a side note...poor dental care causes heart disease. Preventative maintenance would actually save money.

[Ralph]

Originally Posted by el cheapo

Dental and eye care not included because (drum roll please)....$$$$$$$$. Vets are a big chunk of the government budget so you have accountants working overtime to figure out how to put the screws to us. Kind of a side note...poor dental care causes heart disease. Preventative maintenance would actually save money.

They figured out how to give a tax cut to hi income people.... and corporations so they could mainly buy back their stock with the windfall.

[rcnute]

Congrats on the boy going to the Academy!

Ryan

Originally Posted by bigbill

I'm retired military and I use my employer dental plan that is an $18/month deduction from my pay. That's the deluxe plan with a 20% share on crowns. I never counted on dental as part of my retirement without paying for it. If you're in the VA system, most clinics offer dental.

As far as prescriptions, CVS dropped Tricare and now I can only get 30 day fills at Walgreens. I moved my prescriptions to VA mail order and get 90 day fills with no out of pocket costs. At the clinic I can get immediate stuff like BP and arthritis meds, the maintenance stuff like statins is mailed.

As far as retired medical, I was 47 when I retired with 27 years. I went back to work as an engineer so I combined my Tricare with BCBS from work and had no out of pocket costs. Tricare paid the shared. The negative is having Tricare means you can't have an HSA and many employers are moving towards those plans while eliminating PPO types. Now that my son is gone to the Naval Academy and I won't have a wife in a month, for my new job I'm going to try Tricare/VA to see how it works for a few months. The VA clinic in Kingman, AZ is a mile from my house and my health is good. If it's not all that, I'll elect BCBS from work in October and pay the $250 or so a month in my cost for an individual.

[drewskey]

1) Thanks to everyone who served.

2) As a 30-something who is in generally perfect health (and family), the looming rises in healthcare costs have my mind wandering for alternative locations where these discussions don't have to take place. It's moronic to say the least.

[LouDeeter]

I've been retired Army for almost 20 years and never had routine dental in my retired medical coverage, other than when I was still working in a civilian job. I'm now Medicare/Tricare for life and recently, I noticed that one of those paid a small amount on a dental bill--I think it must have been the "exam" portion of a cleaning I had. This termination of the dental plan will affect some, but I suspect that most military retirees either pay as they go for dental or get their insurance elsewhere.

[jamesdak]

Well, from what I'm seeing right now this actually is a "lost" benefit. I already have a dental program I pay for with my current federal job. Then I've been paying for the Delta Dental as a secondary insurance. Looking at the current rules for FEDVIP you can't have two programs. So looks like I'm "shafted" by this change as i won't be able to carry dual insurance anymore. Unless something has changed that is not indicated at the FEDVIP website.

Got to love how you make your financial decisions based on how things are only to have these "promises" constantly changing. Sort of like when I was first hired on after retirement by a defense contractor. Part of my benefits package (and the reason I took the job despite a significant wage cut) was that they would pay for a TRICARE supplement. Then after a year or so Congress passed a law making this illegal. Of course the contractor didn't increase my wages to make up for the lost benefit. A benefit I then started paying for myself.

[semdoug]

Just to clarify, since seeing that their are military retirees on this forum my sole intention of this thread was to provide information to my fellow military retirees. There was no desire on my part to instigate any sort of for or against argument related to military benefits, veterans, or the VA.

My concern was generated by the fact that there is something weird going on with the notification of this change. I only found out about it through my DAV newsletter and roughly two weeks later a post card from the Defense Health Agency/Tricare. I have spoken with others that have received neither form of notification.

Updated Information: The website has been updated with eligibility, plans and cost comparison tools.
https://tricare.benefeds.com/InfoPor...token=r6US1HFT

[unterhausen]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

I think the bigger issue is why isn't dental(and eye care) a part of 'health care coverage'..makes no sense to me..healthy mouth, healthy person..

the general problem with dental and eye care insurance is that you can defray large expenses. So you can just buy insurance occasionally and insurance companies would never make any money. That's why the plans are so limited. If it were included in health insurance, that wouldn't be quite as much of a problem. But that would also mean health insurance would have to be mandatory.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by semdoug

Just to clarify, since seeing that their are military retirees on this forum my sole intention of this thread was to provide information to my fellow military retirees. There was no desire on my part to instigate any sort of for or against argument related to military benefits, veterans, or the VA.

My concern was generated by the fact that there is something weird going on with the notification of this change. I only found out about it through my DAV newsletter and roughly two weeks later a post card from the Defense Health Agency/Tricare. I have spoken with others that have received neither form of notification.

Updated Information: The website has been updated with eligibility, plans and cost comparison tools.
https://tricare.benefeds.com/InfoPor...token=r6US1HFT

Yep, this concerns me too. I've gotten the news several unofficial ways but nothing in the mail or email addressed to me as a participant notifying me that the program is going away. Everything I see at the FEDVIP site says you can only carry one plan. So it appears I am losing my dual coverage which I use and pay for.

[el cheapo]

Talk about not providing info...The VA doesn't disclose that you will be dropped from their system if you do not see a doctor for over TWO years. Considering I'm in great shape for my age with zero health issues I didn't see the need to waste my time or theirs going to the doctor. I was shocked when I went to make an appointment only to find out that I had been dumped.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by el cheapo

Talk about not providing info...The VA doesn't disclose that you will be dropped from their system if you do not see a doctor for over TWO years. Considering I'm in great shape for my age with zero health issues I didn't see the need to waste my time or theirs going to the doctor. I was shocked when I went to make an appointment only to find out that I had been dumped.

Yup, in spite of some 'news', the VA is still seriously gooned up and present and maybe future 'leadership' isn't helping..When the US military are in conflicts for this long(28 years or so since first GW, 17 since 9/11), expect demands on the VA..same as Korea and VietNam...

[deechee]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

I think the bigger issue is why isn't dental(and eye care) a part of 'health care coverage'..makes no sense to me..healthy mouth, healthy person..

Meanwhile, here in Quebec where we have "medicare", our dentists want out of the provincial plan that forces them to provide free care to children until 10 years and some low income individuals. I really don't know why dentsists have to be treated as a special group.

And thank you all for your service. I can't imagine why something as basic as taking care of veterans can be such a paperwork mess. Why should you have to apply & re-apply every few years? Besides missing a deadline and falling off the coverage, I can't see any reason for this.