Do I have to go to an army medical center just bc I have tricare?

I called the appointment line at our duty station to make an appointment bc I have a bladder infection. They said that because I have tricare standard i have to call back at 2:30pm to schedule my appointment and they would see if they had anything available. I think it's BS! so could I make an appointment off post and have tricare still pay for all of it or at least part of the bill???Do I have to go to an army medical center just bc I have tricare?
No you do not. As long as you go to a provider that TRICARE covers.
No it isn't BS it is the policy. With Tricare Standard you are seen by civilian doctors/hospitals/clinics first and foremost. You have a yearly deductible and copay for each visit To be seen on base you must be Tricare Prime or they must allow Standard patients, this would be after AD, family members, retirees and reservists on prime. They will cover the bill except for the co-pay as long as you are seen by a Tricare approved doctor/clinic/hospital. That is why they suggested you call after 2:30 to see if there is a Space available opening.Do I have to go to an army medical center just bc I have tricare?
Because you are standard, you are on a space available compared to those on Prime at a on-post medical center.



You can go off-post, just make sure the the doctor you see accepts tricare standard. You will have a copay and maybe some other fees. The doctors that accept tricare standard can only charge so much for their services, some of which tricare will pick up and the other part you will need to pay.
do they have an advice nurse line, sometimes if there is no APPT. you can call the advise nurse and she can just put in the meds. for you and you can pick up the meds. at your pharmacy. but that is at FT Bragg. if not you can try to find a doc. off post that takes tricare and you may have a co-pay, you m,ay not, so be aware of that.
No you do not have to go on post. Find the tricare provier manual and locate a doctor nearest to you. Or just call the nearest doctors and ask who accepts Tricare standard. Tricare prime is like the HMO tricare standard is like a PPO. Just ask the doctor that you will be visiting to verify your benefits before hand to make sure that there are no suprise out of pocket costs.
since you are Standard you do NOT have priority access to on base facilities. Only Prime offers priority access. Standard is so you can have your own doctor off base but all copays and deductibles still apply.