Might have Cancer

[carolineden11 2]

Hi everyone,

I recently had my medical in Toronto and passed. I won't get into the details but they didn't initially pass me because of a lump. It turned out to be a cyst However, my family doctor is now concerned that I might have lymphoma due to more lumps that have come up on my neck. She's referring me to a specialist but that takes some time in Canada. My interview is August 10th in Montreal. I likely won't have any results by then. My question is, if I pass my interview, will they let me enter at the POE regardless of my health status (i.e. say I had just started chemotherapy or something and lost my hair). Secondly, my fiance is in the military so I should have full medical insurance once we're married and I enroll in their program. I think I would need a SSN first though. Any idea how long that would take? We could probably afford to pay the medical bills for a month or two if needed. Thanks!

[Inky 1,110]

It can take 1-2 months to be covered my military health care. I already went through that waiting period with no coverage at all. It also really depends on what coverage you get, you may have co-pays or not. It also depends if they will cover what you have and to what extent they will cover it.

You should start researching now what tricare plan you are available to get and what the plan would cover.

[carolineden11 2]

I called the DEERS issuing office at the base where I will be moving and they said they can get me enrolled right away when we're married even if I don't have a SSN yet. They said they would give me a temporary card which would enable me to get the health care. I also found out I can enroll in Tricare Prime with 100% coverage and no pre-condition limitations.

Inky, you're experience is making me doubt this information. Should I be worried?

[APlusJ 1]

Im so sorry, that must be so scary. I hope you get good news and nothing is wrong.

As for being covered immediately and without a SSN, that part is true. I was retroactively covered under my husbands health insurance from he day we married, even though it was a few days after the wedding that he emailed his HR to add me to his benefits.

[Inky 1,110]

I called the DEERS issuing office at the base where I will be moving and they said they can get me enrolled right away when we're married even if I don't have a SSN yet. They said they would give me a temporary card which would enable me to get the health care. I also found out I can enroll in Tricare Prime with 100% coverage and no pre-condition limitations.

Inky, you're experience is making me doubt this information. Should I be worried?

Funny. Deers is just as bad as Tricare is!

Tricare is not your friend on many levels.

I have Tricare prime.

You can be covered without an SSN yes, but when I had no ssn they couldn't finish processing the paperwork without it! so I had to rush to get it to them. I could see their doctors in the first month waiting period or use an emergency room if it was a definite emergency. But other then that couldn't request to see specialist or get treatment for anything other than a cold or birth control pills. Once my account became "active" I could, which took a month.

My PCM has changed 7 times in 1 year. I have never met any one of my PCMs and its a different doctor every time I go to an appointment. You have to make an appointment with the base clinic FIRST then you go see that doctor and request a referral they say if they will do it or not and if they say yes. You can be waiting anywhere from 1-4 months to get approved for a referral. Mine took 2 months. You get a list in the mail of doctors they will allow you to see, my list only had 2 doctors on it, one was an hour drive away and one was 25 mins. You have to make an appointment with this new doctor whenever they can fit you in, almost another month of waiting. Get there and sure enough first thing he said in the 5 min appointment was i had to have surgery. BUT! you have to ask tricare FIRST! then they decide if they will approve the surgery or not.

There is no co-pay for tricare prime. They do cover pre-existing but only within a reasonable margin. There are things that tricare prime does not cover. You are only covered for ONE "female exam" every 2 years, which makes everyone I know angry. One eye doctor appointment a year. You can only use approved doctors which makes traveling HELL.

This is taken directly from tricare prime page on the website " TRICARE covers most inpatient and outpatient care that is medically necessary and considered proven. However, there are special rules or limits on certain types of care, while other types of care are not covered at all. " Have you looked at the tricare website and the list of things they cover and do not cover? pretty big list...

I'm not talking sour grapes.. every military spouse I have met hates tricare lol the only thing they were happy with was they get to choose what hospital they can have their baby at.

The Deers office is usually voluntold military members who are brand new to service, they have messed up so much stuff for me in the 2 years that I have been here lol my ID has been corrected twice already and its still wrong lol.

[carolineden11 2]

Hi Inky,

Thank you for your detailed response about Tricare. I knew it sounded too good to be true. I did look at their website but it didn't say anything about pre-existing conditions or cancer treatment (just cancer screening). What do you mean when you say "They do cover pre-existing but only within a reasonable margin". What is a reasonable margin?

I really don't think I have cancer and neither does my doctor but I just want to make sure I know what I am getting myself into if I move and enroll in Tricare Prime. If it's the worst case scenario and I do have cancer would it really take months for Tricare to approve treatment and get me to a specialist even if I've been diagnosed with cancer already in Canada? Does Tricare not cover cancer treatment?

I don't want to delay my visa interview on the off chance that I might have cancer. I'm only 24 so it's unlikely. But at the same time, I don't want to end up in the US without being able to get treatment for a serious illness.

Did it really only take you a month to get a SSN?

[Inky 1,110]

Yes i got my ssn pretty quickly because we married pretty much right after I entered the USA, then we went and applied for my ssn 2 weeks after my entry and I got the SSN in married name quickly. Applied for my DEERS stuff and spousal ID right away because they needed thos at the tricare office to sign me up. I signed up before I got my ssn and rushed my ssn over to the office right when I got it in the mail. I called the SSN office for updates on my card every couple of days so they would not "forget" about my things like what seems to happen to some people who post on VJ.

Treatment depends on what machines they are using and what kind of surgery they are using and all this little underlying stuff. If the things they use are not " approved " or accepted by tricare they wont approve the surgery. If you are lucky you can get a doctor who can fix it so that things are covered. Not all of them are willing to do this though because when tricare pays them, they pay VERY LITTLE. The hospital and doctors get next to no pay for what they do from tricare. For example one of my bills was 3,490$ they only payed them 211$. The doctor I had, had to get two surgerys approved and the woman that was helping me with the paperwork said she could work it for me so they will be accepted without contest.

My neighbor has Tricare prime too like I do, she has severe endometriosis and ovarian cysts since she was a kid. They refused to approve her surgery for 8 years. Because they did not believe she needed it. She finally found a doctor after paying from her own pocket to see him that was able to get tricare to approve the surgery for her.

I HOPE you don't have it, but if you do, get every piece of documentation from start to finish and bring it with you. If you are lucky enough to get a good PCM bring all thos papers in with you go through every paper with the PCM go over every detail from your medical tests etc from Canada and ask for a referral to a specialist. Ask them to rush the referral. The base clinic should have a referral office inside, after your doctor appointment go to the referral office and check in with ur DEERS login and make sure they know its URGENT that you need to get this done. Hopefully they would rush it for you but there is no guaranty. If your PCM doesnt want to do a referral for some reason find another one/see a resident doctor. I had to see 3 different doctors before I got a referral from the accute care clinic inside the base clinic.

[S and P 9]

Did it really only take you a month to get a SSN?

We got married on July 7th, applied for my hubby's SSN on July 15th, his SSN card arrived in the mail on July 22nd. I don't know if this is typical but I hope the info helps!

Good luck to you!!

[S and P 9]

We got married on July 7th, applied for my hubby's SSN on July 15th, his SSN card arrived in the mail on July 22nd. I don't know if this is typical but I hope the info helps!

Good luck to you!!

forgot to add...... you need to wait at least 10 business days after POE to apply for SSN (takes that long for their system to get updated)

[Inky 1,110]

just a heads up military have been announced they will not be payed as of august if there is no decision made by the government.

[minnew 4]

caroline I am sorry to hear of the possibility of cancer I just had a co worker go through cancer in her sinuses very rare and aggressive. I can't remember the exact policy but when I was enrolled into tricare it depended on when you got married and able to enroll. I think we got to the tricare office before the 20th of the month so it was effective november 1 2009 for me. It can take that extra month though. As far as the pre existing conditions I am not aware of that policy

I haven't had as much trouble as Inky with PCM, so far mine has not moved, but I think mine is civilian at the clinic. Its ridiculous to try to get an urgent appointment though, (hummm reminds me of being in SK...no luck seeing your regular doctor for a common cold, better get to urgent care clinic)...haha but I would rather not pay here in the USA for that, just have to call really early in the morning and hope and pray they can get you in that day... my PCM is always backed up apparently, she always takes so much time with me though. Most of the time trying to log into her computer and spends her time verbally assessing me staring at computer screen...customer service...i remember when my doctor in Canada was actually happy to see me and would shake my hand every time! haha!

[carolineden11 2]

Thanks for all the advice. Hopefully everything gets resolved soon!