Qualified reservists offered Tricare Reserve Select Published May 16, 2007 By Tech. Sgt. J.C. Woodring Air Reserve Personnel Center Public Affairs DENVER -- Thousands of Guard and Reserve Airmen in the Selected Reserve are now eligible to purchase health insurance from Tricare for them and their families. Tricare Reserve Select offers three-tiered medical coverage to all members of the Selected Reserve, said Joyce Nackowicz, a Tricare Reserve Select representative at the Air Reserve Personnel Center headquarters here. The tiers are determined by the servicemember's status: Tier 1 - contingency driven for operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, Tier 2 - unemployed with state benefits, self-employed or employed without benefits, Tier 3 - other Selected Reserve. To certify their eligibility, the servicemembers must first file an intent on the Guard/Reserve Portal and then complete the Department of Defense Form 2895, "Agreement to Serve in the Selected Reserve for Tricare Reserve Select." Once the forms are completed, Guard Airmen turn them in to their units and reservists submit them to ARPC. Reservists can fax the forms and supporting documentation to 303-676-6298 or DSN 926-6298. They also can scan the forms and e-mail them to arpc.contactcenter@arpc.denver.af.mil or attach them to a new request online at https://arpc.afrc.af.mil/vPC-GR/newrequest.asp. While the coverage is the same for each of the tiers, the premiums are different, according to the TRS Web site. The first tier, and least expensive, is offered to Airmen who have been released from at least 90 days of active-duty service during a contingency. They can apply for the coverage while in an active-duty status or within 90 days of leaving active duty. "It's very important that they do not miss the 90 days," Ms. Nackowicz said. "The law was written to give them the extra 90 days. If they apply late, there is nothing we can do for them." She said she recommends that people apply while they are still on active duty because they have easy access to their commanders who must sign the form. For Selected Reserve Airmen who are not on a contingency order, they must apply during the open season each year from Sept. 1 and Oct. 31 for Tier 2 or 3 coverage to begin in the new year. Tricare payments must be postmarked by Nov. 25. An exception to the annual open season is made for people with a "qualifying life event," who have 60 days from the event to purchase, change or terminate coverage. The assistant secretary of defense for health affairs designated these events as "a change in immediate family composition" or "a change in employment of the member or spouse that affects the coverage status of the member or member's family." Once Ms. Nackowicz and others on her team verify eligibility, they update the information in the Military Personnel Data System and the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System. Then, they notify the servicemember of his or her eligibility for coverage by phone or e-mail. After their information is entered into DEERS, the servicemembers need to log into the Tricare Guard-Reserve portal to print a personalized enrollment form, which is only available online. After completing and printing the form, the servicemember must submit it with the correct one-month premium to the regional Tricare contractor. Tricare officials caution that they will not process the request form if the correct payment is not enclosed or the form is incomplete or inaccurate. The contractor will notify the servicemember if the request form has errors. Requests received outside the annual open season, unless for a qualifying life event or new accession, will be returned along with any premium payments, Tricare officials said. For details, visit the TRS Web site at http://www.tricare.osd.mil/reserve/reserveselect/index.cfm or call the Reserve Personnel Contact Center toll free at 800-525-0102 or DSN 926-6528. Reserve officials recently announced that drilling reservists can enroll in Tricare Standard for Selected Reserve starting Oct. 1. Under this program, they pay 28 percent of premiums, and the government picks up the rest.