U.S. Military Retiree Medical Care in CR

[soldier]

Can any U.S. military retirees currently living in Costa Rica, advise as to using Costa Rican medical facilities if a veteran has a 100% permanant and total disability rating by the Veterans Administration. Also, can military retiree TRICARE be utilized at Costa Rican medical facilities.

[Cancertomnpdx]

No, you can not! You will need to return to the US for treatment or maybe somewhere you can find a VA hospital like the possibility of Puerto Rico. I think you will find that if you check the VA website that they are very clear that they do not pay for treatment outside of VA facilities in foreign countries. If you need a VA hospital quickly I would think a quick flight to either Houston, Miami or Atlanta would be your only resource from Costa Rica.

If you are still in doubt, call your congressional representative office and ask to speak with the office authority on VA benefits. Such a person is always a good source of VA benefit information I have discovered over the years.

Thanks
Tom in Portland on a budget.

[costaricafinca]

This seems to be two completely different questions, but excuse me if I am wrong.
The first answer would be, if he is a legal resident, he can/should sign up and use CAJA and it’s facilities, for use in an emergency situation, as one cannot always fly elsewhere for treatment. Obviously this would be paid by him, personally.
I have no idea on the ‘second’ part/question regarding TRICARE, though.

[Nugget]

Following the other gentleman’s question with this one: Will my VA disability benefits have to be given up to live in Costa Rica?

[aguirrewar]

Your VA disability remain in effect regardless of where you go to live. On Tricare question; you will go Prime to Standard in Costa Riva. You will pay out of “pocket” all expenses and be reimbursed 75% when you make the claim.

warren

[Nugget]

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my question. I don’t really know what “prime to standard” means, but I was happy to hear the answer about VA benefits.

Edited on Oct 19, 2009 15:52

[aguirrewar]

Tricare Prime Vs. Standard

Prime is only in the USA and your co-pay is $12.00 regardless of the bill.

ex.

$100.00 bill your co-pay is $12.00
$1,000.00 bill your co-pay is $12.00

Standard:

$100.00 means you pay $100.00 and fill the paperwork for a claim you get 75% or $75.00 back
$1,000.00 is you pay $1,000.00 and you get $750.00 back

do the math

warren

Edited on Oct 19, 2009 18:16

[Nugget]

Thanks again, Warren.

[soldier]

aguirrewar,

Thanks for the information, it was greatly appreciated. I was informed that VA will pay medical costs for service-connected disability(s)in Costa Rica , upon a claim for such medical services.

[ticorealtor]

I hate to have bad news but I do have in-depth experience with this subject and tricare.

Here is a example that recently happened in Paraguay but is applicable anywhere in the world.

If you are a retiree and are with Tri care you will have to change over from prime to standard. You will than have to pay out of pocket and get reimbursed for your medical bills.

Example:

a member that was working for the U.S. DoD as a civilian but was under the Tri Care prime as a Retiree in the U.S. when he came to Paraguay he did not change over to standard.

He was in a motor cycle accident and was in the hospital for three days and had pins put in both arms. When I called the Tri-Care they stated that he was listed under the retiree program and needed to be switched to standard because prime would not pick him up internationally. Since he was working for the DoD in Paraguay he had to be changed over to standard and they would pay him after he paid out of pocket.

Now of course the total cost was only $2,200.00 and that included doctors, hospitals and everything. For this cheap of a cost I would ask why sweat the little crap of co pays and ect and just put the bill on the credit card and get the money later!!! You are paying much cheaper than any place in the U.S.!!!!!! Don’t be stupid and greedy and cry about the little stuff when the bigger picture is that you are not paying doctors hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, nurses 80,000 a year and bed pan cleaners 20 dollars a hour!!!!
>

Edited on Oct 21, 2009 13:06

[aguirrewar]

Here we go again:

you do not have Tricare prime outside the USA and when you go to another country you FALL under Standard regardless of country

OUTSIDE the USA you swith from Prime in the USA to standard in Germany, Panama, Honduras, Paraguay, Costa Rica or ??? any other country outside the USA

If you do not change when you leave the USA the change is automatic when you put your claim outside the USA you go from Prime to TriCare standard

Prime in the USA is $12.00 Co-Pay out of $1.00 or $1,000.00

outside the USA you fall automatically in the standard and you pay %25 of the total medical cost

my wife goes to CR every year and when she needs she goes to “La Clinica Biblica” for medical attention. ! the bill MUST be in Dollars not colones and when I put the paperwork here in the USA I get reimbursed %75 of the total bill, when she is in the USA I pay $12.00

A big difference between Tri Care Prime and Standard, find out for your self

warren

[ticorealtor]

Warren,

Maybe in our case since it was in the embassy, it was not automatic. You have to call them up and have it switched.

[aguirrewar]

in any case:

make a claim in the US Embassy with Tricare Prime and you will get paid Tri Care Standard

they will pay you Standard and if you do not chance from Prime to Standard in the USA the Embassy will do it for you AUTOMATICALLY

the SYSTEM is in place to shortchange you, try to beat IT!!! and you will lose

the trigger is the CLAIM from outside the USA and you lose

warren

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