In the Jan. 19 Tricare Help column, an incomplete answer was provided to a reader whose daughter had just been honorably discharged from the Navy for being
pregnant; at the time, she was five months along.
The father was worried because his daughter apparently had lost her Tricare benefits upon discharge, even though naval personnel had told her she would be covered for health care throughout her pregnancy. The response correctly noted that the sailor’s Tricare benefits indeed ended upon her honorable discharge.
Some service members qualify for 18 months of post-discharge coverage under certain circumstances, but those did not apply in this case.
However, the sailor may well have access to post-discharge military health care through a provision of the Code of Federal Regulations, 32 CFR 728.71, “Ex-service maternity care.”
The text of the CFR provision governing this benefit can be found online here: www.militarytimes.com/pregnant/discharge ; each service has its own version of the federal regulation. There are a number of general guidelines:
■ The pregnancy must have begun after the woman had entered service; if it existed before service, maternity benefits under this provision are not authorized.
■ Former service members can get medical and surgical care in military treatment facilities related to their pregnancy, prenatal care, hospitalization, postnatal care and, when certain requirements are met, abortions. Postnatal care is limited to six weeks after delivery. No civilian care for either mother or infant is authorized under this benefit.
■ When the baby is born, it’s eligible for care, both inpatient and outpatient, for the first six weeks (42 days) after delivery. If the infant requires care beyond that period, the mother or other responsible family member must make arrangements for transfer to a private, state, welfare or other federal facility.
■ Former female service members can apply either in person or writing to the inpatient military treatment facility nearest their home and present either their DD 214 discharge or DD 256A honorable discharge certificate as proof of eligibility.
■ If more than one MTF available and capable of providing the required care is in the area, the service member should apply to the MTF of the service from which she separated, if possible. Assignment in such areas to MTFs of other services may be made only when space is not available or capability does not exist in the MTF of the service from which the individual was separated.
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