When National Guard and Reserve members are placed on active duty orders, they are authorized medical care in a military treatment facility (MTF) and have the same priority for care as any other active duty members. Reserve and National Guard members on active duty orders for less than 30 days are not authorized health care through the military health system except for emergencies while on active duty. Who determines eligibility for military health care? The Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) is the worldwide database that keeps track of military families, retirees and others who are eligible for health care benefits in the military health system or under TRICARE. Active duty service members and military retirees and their families are automatically registered in DEERS computer files when their ID cards are issued. But it is up to the service members to keep DEERS current regarding important information, such as home address and family status. All members of the Uniformed Services must visit the Military Personnel Office to update yours and your family's DEERS information. This is the most important step you can take to ensure you and your family members are eligible for health care. Accurate DEERS information determines whether a beneficiary is eligible to enroll, or stay enrolled, in the TRICARE Program. Even Prime enrollees already in the system will be disenrolled if DEERS shows them as ineligible. Questions and additional information may be obtained by calling DEERS Customer Service at (800) 538-9552. It is also important to visit the nearest MTF or TRICARE Service Center to inquire about enrollment procedures for TRICARE Prime. Additional information on TRICARE benefits is available on the U.S. Army Medical Department's Web site. |
