UGH..Tricare issues--veeentt

onelove1109 · #1 July 23rd, 2009, 01:25 PM

Does anyone else have a DH in the military? It is such an issue to get anything done through Tricare!!!! I have been trying to get my referral to go back to my Specialist Dr for 3 weeks now! It seems like no one is wiling to help me! I just feel like I'm going through this never ending cycle..call tricare check status..its not in. call PCM..have to leave msg and ask what is going on why they haven't sent it in..4 days later get a call back..they say its been sent in..so once again I call tricare and ask the status! Ughhhh it is soo frustrating!

And to add I got some of my test results today on base...(all normal) when the nurse was done going over them (she obviously had no idea what she was talking about) I asked where do we go from here till i get my referral and she said "We'll you'll just have to wait i guess i don't know!!" she actually said just wait and I don't know!---And that is why I WILL NOT go to a military dr while pregnant! They don't care! I saw my sister-in-law go thru the same thing with her first pregnancy. They are rude,inconsiderate, and honestly ghetto..at least around here.

JessP · #2 July 23rd, 2009, 01:37 PM

Oh hun so sorry you are going through this. I have been so lucky however I am the active duty member so I have different rules for tricare. I have had them all go through smoothly. I know others though that have not. I think it depends on the reason for the referral. I am also Coast Guard and we do not have a big military base so I have been so lucky to go to civilian doctors for all my babies. Can you ask the doctors office to give you a copy of the referral? Then when tricare says they don't have it you can say oh I have a copy can I fax it? I am not sure if that will work. The other thing I would do is go to the local tricare office there should be one on base. That is usually better than the 1800 number. Those people are retarded. I hope it gets straightened out soon for you. Lots of hugs

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JessP · #3 July 23rd, 2009, 01:44 PM

duplicate sorry.

HippyMomOf4 · #4 July 23rd, 2009, 03:09 PM

I went through some of the same issues with tricare, DH is Navy and i've gotten a few dr's who just don't care. I think once you find a Dr that is caring things go a lot smoother. I had issues with getting a referal to the RE and it just took a lot of pushing to get things done finally. The only thing i can really say is try and go through a different Dr and not your PCM thats what worked for me. I really hope you can get things working in your favor, i know what a pain tricare can be sometimes.

.:Shortcake:. · #5 July 23rd, 2009, 05:19 PM

Sorry your having such issues with your insurance. It can be a real pain in the butt sometimes.

jaypbee · #6 July 23rd, 2009, 05:26 PM

we have tricare reserve select (dh is nat'l guard) so ours is a bit different. but, still frustrating at times. just stay on them. it's such a pain and takes so much time, i know. can you physically go to your pcm and get the paper yourself and fax it in so you can track it? that's probably where i would start. but first, i'd call tricare, get a person's name and extension and tell them you are about to fax it. then fax it, then call right back. you shouldn't have to do all the work yourself, but it's worth it to get it right!

(and here's my mini rant: and our president is trying to enforce a government run healthcare system??? no thank you!)

onelove1109 · #7 July 23rd, 2009, 05:41 PM

ditto to your minirant.
crazyness..
thats all i'll say about that

Sue46 · #8 July 23rd, 2009, 06:24 PM

Hey did you go to Portsmouth or is there another hospital in Newport News? I live in Chesapeake and went to Portsmouth for my D&E. I actually had a bad experience with a civilian doctor and an awesome one at Portsmouth. Its like that every where not just with the military doctors. My PCM is a civilian, is yours? The problem is your PCM, tricare has been pretty quick to resolve my issues.

onelove1109 · #9 July 23rd, 2009, 07:14 PM

My PCM is at Ft.Eustis..I've just gone to them for my testing and to get this referral. Before I got on Tricare I was going to my Specialist in Suffolk..I absolutely love my doctor there and really want to get back to him. I know its Ft.Eustis making the mistakes....or should I say Ft.Useless

I have chilled out a little since earlier. I think I was just upset that we are still stuck and don't know where to go from here since the testing all came back normal. Hopefully I can get the whole referral situation resolved tomorrow so I can hurry and get back to my specialist.

starrsgirl · #10 July 23rd, 2009, 09:48 PM

I am active duty too and have dealt with Tricare for years. My best advice is sorta what everyone else has said, just stay on top of them, keep calling, and get a copy of everything for yourself. Also, I don't know if ours is different somehow....but my ob/gyn on base just put a referral in for me to see a specialist. I am allowed to go ahead and call them and set up an appointment. Then, I just wait for the actual referral paperwork to catch up. When I get the paperwork, all I have to do is call the 1-800 number and tell them my doctor and the appointment time. I don't even need to bring the paperwork to the specialist appointment. Is it different to active duty? If not, seems like you can go ahead and make the appointment for a few weeks out and the paperwork should follow. Good luck!

krystal g · #11 July 24th, 2009, 07:27 AM

My DH is active duty Air Force and my experience with Tricare so far has been pretty sucky. Although I am thankful for 100% insurance coverage, the base here requires me to go to a family practice clinic staffed with military docs. I am not allowed to see an OB unless there is a serious problem or I am deemed high risk. And although the docs I have seen so far (because it's never the same one twice) have been nice, they are Family Practice not OB! And just having had a m/c & d&c, I'm nervous about the next time. My friend went through this with her last pregnancy - requested a referral for a civilian OB (they said no) then demanded a referral for a civilian OB and still was not granted one. And she tried for months. She was told that Family Practice could take care of her and she did not need to see a civilian OB so she dropped Tricare Prime and went to Standard (much lower coverage) so she would have freedom.

Also, here the 1st Dr. appt is not until 12 weeks & 1st ultrasound is at 20 weeks. Period! The only reason I got one is because of the m/c. Needless to say, the next time I get pregnant (hopefully soon) I don't know what I'm going to do having to wait 12 weeks to even see the doc & hear a heart beat!!! Not sure how I'm going to handle it...not knowing what's going on!!!

Del4 · #12 July 24th, 2009, 07:38 AM

Oh (((hugs))). Been dealing with Tricare since 2003. They suck, but at least it's free healthcare.

When they were taking too long to get a referral in for our little boy's neurologist, DH went to his commander and it was taken care of very shortly after that. That's always an option, if Tricare is d*cking you around. GL!