Changes to Tricare Ease Military Moves

We’ve all been there. Boxes filling our living rooms, final goodbyes being planned and checking our list over and over to make sure that everything is taken care of for our big move to a new duty station.

Tying up loose ends before PCS-ing to a new duty station can be very stressful. Among one of the biggest stress makers is the process of gathering school records, dental records, medical records and prescriptions. It’s enough to make anyone’s head spin! 

The stress does not end at leaving a duty station. We all know that on the other end of our move, enrolling in TRICARE and finding a new doctor and can be challenging and frustrating. Often there are gaps in care if we have to wait for the transfer of our family’s medical records.

Now thanks to the work of former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, service members can now have a more stress free move with TRICARE’s “Moving Made Easy” option. This new plan aims to make the transfer of medical records less complicated by making one simple phone call.

Service members and beneficiaries under TRICARE Prime can now be confident that their medical records and prescriptions were transferred and new doctors were lined up for them before they even arrive at their new duty station.

TRICARE’s “Moving Made Easy” eliminates the possible gaps in care because the transfer can be made before the move. Families may also choose to call TRICARE to transfer information during or after a move. 

We seem to really like this new program because based on moves made this summer, TRICARE has received 6,000 calls per week from active duty troops and their families to transfer medical records and get new doctor assignments. 

Although it does take more employees to handle the phones for this new program, service members and their families report that things are now moving more smoothly because there are no missed signals.  When a family calls before a move, they leave with a completed enrollment. 

Knowing that the hassle of enrolling in TRICARE at a new duty station is now over, military families can now mark that stress off of their list.

“Moving Made Easy” is currently limited to active duty service members and their families. Because of its popularity an expansion could be on the horizon for DOD employees.

So while we’ve still got to find a new place to live, plan our route, arrange hotels and figure out how to keep our children from going bonkers during a 40 hour road trip, we can now at least rest our heads in peace at night knowing that one thing has already been taken care of for us. And I don’t know about you, but when I’ve got my head in 12 different places during duty station transfers, removing that one worry is very valuable to restoring my sanity.

Telephone numbers to transfer TRICARE information and find new health care providers are listed by region and overseas at www.tricare.mil.