TRICARE Reserve and Guard Family Benefit Now Permanent
Sunday, October 5, 2008 at 12:04 AM
by post10421
FALLS CHURCH, Va. – Eligible families of activated National Guard and Reserve members will continue to save up to $300 in annual deductibles now that a TRICARE "demonstration" program is a permanent benefit.Eligible family members of Guard and Reserve personnel activated for more than 30 days under federal orders in support of a contingency operation are made eligible for TRICARE Standard and TRICARE Extra, which have annual deductibles. While they may be eligible to enroll into TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Prime Remote for Active Duty Family Members, which have no deductibles, many may choose to stay with TRICARE Standard or Extra.
Introduced as one of the first TRICARE healthcare enhancements after Sept. 11, 2001 to assist the increasing number of National Guard and Reserve service members activated to support the Global War on Terrorism, the benefit waiving annual deductibles has been a demonstration project for over seven years.
"The demonstration has worked well and the benefit is not changing," said the Deputy Director of TRICARE Management Activity, Maj. Gen. Elder Granger. "We simply want to make sure our Guard and Reserve families know this is a permanent benefit now that final federal regulation has been published."
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