TRICARE, Your Military Health Plan

In This Section:

• DEERS
• Updating Personal Information
• Newborns, Adopted Children and Pre-Adopted Children
• Unremarried Former Spouses
• ID Cards
• Who's Eligible?
• Who's Not Eligible?
• Loss of Eligibility
• Certificate of Creditable Coverage

Newborns, Adopted Children and Pre-Adoptive Children

Your newborn or adopted child must be registered in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) before you can enroll in any TRICARE health plan.  

To register your child in DEERS, you must submit the following to your ID card office:

• An original or certified-copy of the birth certificate or certificate of live birth (signed by the attending physician or other responsible person from a U.S. hospital or military treatment facility), or consular report of birth (FS-240) for children overseas;
• A record of adoption or a letter of placement of the child into the home by a recognized placement/adoption agency or the court before the final adoption; and
• An Application for Identification Card/DEERS Enrollment (DD Form 1172-2) signed by the sponsor and verifying official from a uniformed services identification (ID) card-issuing facility. If the sponsor can't sign the DD Form 1172-2 in person at an ID card facility, then a notarized copy of the form is required. The spouse must submit presentation of a power of attorney if the sponsor didn't sign the DD Form 1172-2.

You can apply for your child's Social Security number (SSN) on the Social Security Administration Web site, or by calling 1-800-772-1213.  Once you receive your child's SSN, be sure to update their DEERS information.

TRICARE Prime Coverage
If any family member is enrolled in Prime, TRICARE Prime covers the following:

• Newborns for 60 days beginning from the date of birth;
• Adopted children for 60 days beginning from the effective date of the actual adoption; and
• Pre-adoptive children for 60 days beginning on the date of placement of the court or approved adoption agency.

To continue Prime coverage past the first 60 days, you must enroll your newborn or adoptee in either TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Prime Remote within the 60-day window. On the 61st day and after, if your child isn't enrolled, TRICARE processes all future claims under TRICARE Standard and Extra (higher costs) until your child is enrolled.  

Note: To give parents overseas sufficient time to meet all TRICARE overseas eligibility requirements for newborns, the enrollment period for TRICARE Prime and TRICARE Prime Remote Overseas is 120 days.

Your child loses TRICARE eligibility after 365 days unless they are enrolled in DEERS. >>Learn More 

To enroll your child in a TRICARE Prime program:

Last Modified:May 21, 2012