Tricare Payment Error Puts Retired Marine’s Health Coverage at Risk

Marine Staff Sgt. Russ Clark, who is now retired, wants people who get Tricare in the West Region to look over their Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) pay records. He did this after discovering that his Tricare Prime payment was mistakenly stopped in January. The problem arose when the old Health Net Federal Services contract was being replaced by the new TriWest Healthcare Alliance contract.

Officials from Tricare told beneficiaries that recurring allotment payments would be transferred immediately, but Clark's did not. His December pay stub said that the Tricare payment had been stopped, but DFAS and Tricare staff told him not to worry about it. But as of March 7, the payment has not started up again.

Clark has been making online payments by hand so that his coverage doesn't stop. He plans to keep making monthly payments until he is sure that DFAS won't start the allotment again without warning. In the next few months, he'll switch to credit card auto-pay.

Clark worries that other recipients might not have noticed the problem, especially since the rise in CLAR pay for military retirees in January could have hidden the missing amount. People who are impacted might think that the extra money in their paycheck is just their COLA increase, which could put their Tricare coverage at risk.

People who pay for Tricare Prime, Tricare Select, Tricare Young Adult, Tricare Reserve Select, or Tricare Retired Reserve plans should make sure they paid for all of them so they don't lose coverage without warning.

If you are a Tricare West Region enrollee, it's very important to check your payments and ensure your coverage stays current.

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