First, congratulations on the addition to your family. This is an exciting and, as I’m sure I will soon find out, exhausting time in your lives! In order to ensure that the baby is covered under Tricare, there are a few steps that you need to take.
Enroll the baby in DEERS by visiting the closest RAPIDS site (you can search for the closest office by clicking the link). You will need an original birth certificate or hospital proof of live birth as well as a completed Form DD 1172. This will allow the baby to be entered into the system as your newest Army dependent. This will automatically ensure the baby is covered under Tricare Standard at the end of 60 days if you do not do anything else. If you do not register the baby in DEERS within 365 days, the system will show a “loss of eligibility” for the baby.
The baby is covered under Tricare for the first 60 days after birth, regardless of if you enroll him. If you would like for the baby to be enrolled in Tricare Prime, you need to complete a Prime enrollment form and submit it before the first 60 days of the baby’s life pass by. This form can be faxed or mailed. It MUST be done within the first 60 days in order to avoid a lapse in coverage.
If your soldier has a CAC card or a DFAS pin number (for MyPay), the form can be completed online at Tricare’s website. Again, be sure this is done within the first 60 days of the baby’s birth.
Children do not need an ID until they reach age 10. At that time, you can proceed to the nearest office to have their ID made. In the meantime, you will have a separate Tricare insurance card for them since they won’t have an ID to serve in this purpose.
It is helpful to also bring in the newborn’s social security card when you enroll him in DEERS. If you have not received it yet when he is enrolled, he will be assigned a temporary identification number which is valid for 90 days. The parents must supply a social security number before the 90 day window expires or the child will lose coverage until it is provided.
Picture courtesy of Serena Huskey
Great information Stacey! You should be aware, however, that in overseas locations, the deemed enrolled period for newborns and adoptees is 120 days, due to the requirement to obtain a passport for the new family member and the fact that paperwork may take longer to process in some areas abroad.
Chris Hober
TRICARE Management Activity
Falls Church, VA
Thank you so much for the clarification for those who are overseas. 🙂
Thank you so much for all of your great advise on this blog. I am 6 months pregnant with our first baby and i have been wondering about adding him to tricare. This is also our first deployment..thankfully its almost over. I wish i would have found your blog when this deployment first started. A lot of my questions would have been answered. Thank you again.
Thank you! 🙂
My soldier is overseas in Afghanistan right now, and things have been difficult to do without him here, we recently got married through via proxy(internet) through the state of Montana, I have received 2 marriage certificates through the mail. but i have not yet turned them into social security yet, wondering if i should do that before i try to enroll myself in the DEERS program, ? i would hate to get all the way down there and have to turn around because somethings not right, and i currently 8months pregnant with our first little girl. Any information could help me. He has a POA so he should have to be there right?
My husband and I are seperated. My baby needs to be seen now, she’s a week old. He’s no where to be found which is fine. I have my ID card. So how do I go about making her an appointment when she’s not enrolled? It says babies are automatically covered for the first 60 days so how does this work?