Dependent Tricare

The document I shared above that contains the reference to TRICARE 708 came from Army Cadet Command for Army ROTC commissionees

Perhaps a phone call needs to be made to Air Education & Training Command asking this medical coverage question for Air Force ROTC commissionees

unkown1961 said:

My son graduates and commissions this May from AFROTC. But he has the year long wait until he reports to Intel School. Does anyone know how or if Tricare works during that period? If I'm still declaring him as a dependent, does he stay covered?

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A couple of things to think about.

1. Are you sure he is a yr out from attending Intel School?
~ Our DS's RNLTD changed several times between March and Aug. He was going pilot.
~~ 1st RNLTD was early May. The CoC contacted and said, OBTW, that report date is 2 days after finals...no official grades would be in. Nor would they have done the commissioning ceremony. HQ AFROTC comes back for the last week of May, 2 days after the commissioning ceremony, but per AF regs, he has a 3 day drive to that base. Moved again. 3rd RNLTD was 1st week of Aug. He commissioned and was told orders would drop @ end of June. He calls 1st week of July and asks where are his orders...oops we moved you back to Sept. Sorry we forgot to inform you.
~~~ Just saying that although our DS's date was pushed back, there are some that are moved forward...somebody had to be placed into those classes in May.
2. Our DS worked full time for those 3-4 months. Since he was FT he carried insurance with his employer.
3. Has he talked to the det.?
~ I say this bc I know our DS prior to commissioning, knowing that as a dependent (AF) would be removed once he graduated unless we purchased the supplement, he might be uninsured. He had a job lined up starting within days from commissioning and opted to use that company's insurance. If memory serves me correctly, he had a 30 day wait period to activate with the company. Yet. I will say again, that AFROTC offered a Tricare supplemental that they could take upon commissioning.

Finally, remember in the medical world 18 and over HIPPA applies, so DEERs might have to be tight lipped regarding his options as an AFROTC cadet graduating.

Turns out he will have coverage. He does the paperwork when he does the commissioning paperwork.
And Pima he's been told a "possible" year wait, but that could easily be shorter.
Thanks all for the input!

Pima said:

Our DS commissioned AFROTC. If I recall correctly they will give them the paperwork about 6-9 weeks prior to commissioning.

I would really read the fine print. Tricare can be problematic bc not every doc or pharmacy will accept it. IE we have Tricare, CVS use to accept it for prescriptions, but no longer does.

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The no CVS is a big pain for us. Closest Walgreen's is 30 minutes and we pass 4 CVS's on the way. Plus Walgreen's sucks lol!

Be careful with Tricare, the "changes" that went into effect last year mostly took place FY2019. There were a ton of changes to everything from medical to dental and home care, a lot of retired vets were asking questions and a lot of them switched over to VA Healthcare (but that only covers the Vet, no kids or spouse unless you are 100%), My question here is we all know SA Cadets and grads have Tricare, most of the ROTC Commissions now are "Regular Commissions" meaning active duty I would assume. New Graduates have either a three year or four year AD obligation (unless they opt for Reserve Commission) which I would think would indicate Tricare coverage? The only "gap" I can see is if someone graduated ROTC and opted for a Reserve Commission which would mean you would fall under the "reserve component" healthcare, which is likely subsidized Tricare or The ACA of some kind.

Someone on here must know somebody who did what OP's son did and can comment with better knowledge about his options. I hope things have changed since when I had a friend in the reserves....he had no military health coverage except when he was on orders, and no option for Tricare at all.

Impulsive said:

Be careful with Tricare, the "changes" that went into effect last year mostly took place FY2019. There were a ton of changes to everything from medical to dental and home care, a lot of retired vets were asking questions and a lot of them switched over to VA Healthcare (but that only covers the Vet, no kids or spouse unless you are 100%), My question here is we all know SA Cadets and grads have Tricare, most of the ROTC Commissions now are "Regular Commissions" meaning active duty I would assume. New Graduates have either a three year or four year AD obligation (unless they opt for Reserve Commission) which I would think would indicate Tricare coverage? The only "gap" I can see is if someone graduated ROTC and opted for a Reserve Commission which would mean you would fall under the "reserve component" healthcare, which is likely subsidized Tricare or The ACA of some kind.

Someone on here must know somebody who did what OP's son did and can comment with better knowledge about his options. I hope things have changed since when I had a friend in the reserves....he had no military health coverage except when he was on orders, and no option for Tricare at all.

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I can provide some answers.

1. All Air Force ROTC commissions are regular "Active" commissions-- even those into the reserve component. "Reserve" commissions are no longer a thing.
2. Reserve component members are covered under "Tricare Reserve Select" (TRS) if they want it. There is a very small monthly premium for 80/20 coverage. Note that if those reservists are Title 5 or Title 32 federal employees (ART/Guard Technician) then they will not be eligible for TRS, as they are covered by FEHB-- which I am told sucks compared to Tricare Select.
3. Regardless of component membership, all new officers on Title 10 orders (federal active-duty) are covered by Tricare Prime or Tricare Prime Remote if those orders extend more than 30 days. This is full-blown active-duty Tricare for themselves and their dependents.
4. For the gap between ROTC commissioning and the RNLTD, members are covered under Section 708 of the Tricare Reserve Select-- mentioned several times in this thread. Dependents are NOT covered under this section and should seek health insurance coverage via an alternate source like Medicaid or existing employers' coverage.
5. Regardless of eventual component of service (AC or RC), all new 2d Lt's will be Title 10 during their technical training.
6. Section 708 TRS coverage can be very tricky to activate, but the Det's cadre should be able to help with enrollment.

Sources: Tricare Prime, Tricare Reserve Select, Tricare Coverage at the SA's, Further Explanation of Section 708 of the TRS Plan

2LT son who graduated from ROTC in May and awaiting BOLC in OCT finally received Tricare Prime coverage available through Tricare 708. He was dropped from our Tricare Prime coverage the day after graduation and although Tricare Young Adult is available it is expensive at $350 per month. No one understood this coverage and we had to keep pushing to find the person who could implement it. We were told over and over it didn't exist by Tricare reps, DEERS were sympathetic but could not help, ROTC Cadre provided support but no actionable help. Finally, found the contact of the person in charge of the program at Cadet Command. First step is getting orders then Danielle at cadet command can have a Tricare Analyst update the system so DEERS can see it. I hope this is helpful to another cadet. It was a long stressful 7 weeks for us.
Danielle Peterson
Soldier & Family Programs, Cadet Command
502-624-7219
danielle.l.peterson.civ@mail.mil