Post Doctors Visit

I wasn't planning on writing more today, but I really wanted to share how my first use of Tricare went. I was expecting a lot of extra paperwork and haivng to call some 1-800 number, but It was very easy.

I got the office a little early and checked in and filled out all the new patient paperwork. Then the receptionist asked me what insurance I had. Upon hearing "tricare" she asked for my military ID, which I guess is the only proof they need. Somehow, they magically knew my "sponsors" name. The only thing she needed to know was if my husband was active duty.

Well, I assume he is active duty since he isn't home with me, so I said that yes he was. Apparently, if your sponsor is active duty, there isn't even a copay (if your visiting your PCM).

After that point, it was all pretty routine. Just your average doctors appointment.

A cool feature of my doctors clinic is that it is pretty inclusive. I got to meet a pediatrician today who is going to come to the hospital after the baby is born. He was very nice and was in the airforce for a very long time. It will be kind of cool to have a veteran take care of my son!

Major plus to have my doctor and babies doctor in the same building.

First run in with Tricare

I dont have much time to write today, but I wanted to pre-examine my upcoming doctors appointment. This will be my first time using my brand new Tricare plan. It is still Standard at this point, so there might be a co-pay and they dont accept my state insurance. My Tricare Prime doesn;t kick in until June 1st.

I am hoping this goes smoothly. I think that all I need to take is my new military ID! I do think its sort of silly that I have to go and have an appointment with my "primary care manager" (your general doctor assigned by tricare) just so I can be referred back to my normal OB/GYN. It seems like OB's should be outside the scope of referals since they are integral to womens health. But whatever; visits to my PCM are not out of pocket and its a couple of hours of out my morning.

Eh. I have nothing better to do. I think I might consider rearranging my bedroom so its layout is more condusive to have a newborn. I still have two months to go, but I am "nesting". I dont like that term, although I can see how it was coined. I feel the urge to clean and prepare, but I dont have the energy to! I start doing a task and suddenly I am so exhaused that I can barely keep my eyes open.

Seeing a Base for the First Time

This last friday, I finally got enrolled in Tricare and got my military ID. It was a two week process of me harassing my husbands recruiter and it was a pain in the butt. Eventually, the recruiter called and we set a time to head up to the closest base, Fairchild Airforce Base.

Now, I have absolutly no background with the military so my first time on a base was, of course, a topic of interest for me. I didn't know if I should expect huge walls with armed men patroling the edges. I was also expecting the car to be searched; security was a big deal as far as I knew.

We drove up the "gate" and the recruiter flashed his military ID and the guy in camo just waved us on through. I am assuming its because we were in a military car, but I could be wrong. Maybe the guard just knew the recruiter.

Then we are on the base. And it looks like a town. A normal, busy town. There were sections of housing and then building with signs for various purposes. No scowling men with menacing guns. It felt like suburbia to be honest.

So we wound our way through the buildings to the one that was specifically for getting your military ID's. Walked in, put my name on a waiting list (like the DMV) and waited until we were taken to a cubicle. Very organized. The man behind the desk looked over my documents, took my picture, and handed me my ID right then and there. It wasn't a hassle at all.

Then we drove over to the base hospital. Not much of a hospital in my opinion, but I doubt they are doiong much brain surgery there. We were sent to an office specifically for Tricare where a very nice man got to work right away on enrolling me.

Overall, a very hassle free and pleasant experience. The hardest part was probably waiting in line for the ID, but even that wasn't so bad since there was a TV playing the news.

The base, overall, was very simple. Sprawling and busy. Not very well organized in my opinion, but I am OCD and lack of symmetry bothers me. The houses didn't look very nice, but the recruiter says thats just Fairchild AFB. He said that Pendleton has the nicest base housing out of everywhere that he has been.

I bet the waiting list for base housing is enormous at Pendleton. Its a shame you can't get on the housing lists until your husband/wife is stationed there.

So, if you are wondering what a base is like, its pretty normal. At least as far as I saw. The only difference between a town and a base is the workers are wearing camo uniforms instead of business suits. And the giant fence surrounding the base.

Finally, Some Results!

There is a God! After two weeks of calling and emailing the recruiters, there is finally a plan!

The Power of Attorney has been recovered, I found my Marriage Certificate, and the plan is to head to Fairchild Airforce base tomorrow morning. Fairchild is the closest military installation, so thats where I have to go to get enrolled in DEERS. Which is what allows me to be eligable for Tricare.

I am so relieved to finally have this situation getting wrapped up! I have been trying to limit stress since my last OB appt and this whole thing has just been making me super stressed.

If you are reading this, and don't know what DEERS or Tricare is, look at my list of page links and there will be a few useful ones for you.

If you are in the same situation as me, and are trying to figure out what needs to be done, here are some tips:

1. Get your PoA and DONT let it out of your sight. Keep it safe.
2. Gather all of your documents. Picture ID, Birth certificate (yours), Marriage Certificate, and SSN Card.
3. Make sure you know your husbands SSN. The Husbands recruiter didn't mention that I would need it, but I have read in lots of other places that if your spouse is in the military, you had better learn those nine numbers by heart.
4. Make sure your spouses recruiters KNOW that you want to get this taken care of. You don't need to be rude, but I definetly got more results after I made sure they knew I was getting impatient with the waiting games.

Anything beyond these tips is beyond your control. So as stressful as it may be...

                                       "Just keep swimming!"

I Dont Have Much Faith in Recruiters

Before my husband left for San Diego, he filled out a power of attorney, a document which allows me to fill out paperwork on his behalf. Very important to have if you are trying to enroll in Tricare. For those who don't know, Tricare is the insurance of the military.

Anyways, he filled one out the day he left for San Diego. We had it notarized by a family friend and gave it to Danny's recruiter. I must have had a lapse in sanity; why on earth did I let that paper out of my sight? The recruiters are not very reliable.

This wasn't the first time we have had trouble with one.

Danny's first recruiter (who was reassigned I think...) was incapable of keeping track of time. I can think of five different instances where we had to call him to remind him of meetings we had scheduled. He was a nice guy, just didn't seem to be very focused on his job.

The second guy is also very nice! He is very helpful and hasn't really messed up. The problem is that he doesn't seem to know what the heck is going on with the PoA. He says that I should have it. Which made me a little bit upset. The last time I saw it was as Danny was walking into the recruiters office to leave for MEPS.

So that means that either the recruiters have it and misplaced it or its lost at MEPS. Either way, I am very upset. It was a lot of work to get that PoA signed and notarized. How could they just lose it?

Not just lose it, but make no efforts to correct the situation. Come on guys, I am seven months pregnant. I really need insurance! They have been trying to figure this out for a week and still nothing. If I dont hear from them by monday morning(tomorrow) I am going to the office and demanding that they fix this. I dont know how they are going to do it.

I hope it doesn't come down to having to call San Diego and have danny sign the form again and fax it up here. I doubt that would look good to the DI's.

So my recommendation: Dont trust the recruiters to keep track of anything. Dont leave any important papers with them (anything!) and make sure you keep them aware.

OR maybe I am just unlucky. Maybe most recruiters rock and have superb track records and I got the irresponsible ones.

*sigh*