My husband is joinning the army, we have 3 children all under 2...I have a few questions...?

[RachelF]

I read on about.com about most things, but there are a few that concern me. Medical and dental care....they said the deductible for medical is 300 a month for family, and for dental its usually about 35 a month...can anyone give their experiences with the army health care system? Also, How long is the waiting list to live on base, and i know there is subsidized housing pay, but when the time comes to relocate, do they help you FIND housing while waiting for on base housing, or are you on your own? Thank you, anything helps.

[kiSSs6922]

The Waiting list for AF Base is usually 6 months, I'm not sure about the Army. I know in the Navy you cannot get in the service if you have 4 dependants! that's what happened to my sister's husband when he tried to get in the Navy!

[7of93251]

I had two kids when I was in the army, the medical care was free the dental, I had to pay some of the co-pay on. The waitiong list for panama was six months, after that I livved off post and had to find my own housing off post. the waiting list on post was a year, so off post I went.

[Mrsjvb6975]

was he able to get the dependency waiver? with 4 dependents he needs one.as for Medical: for Standard, yes there is a deductible and a co pay for all services. Not sure what it is. for Prime, there are no copays or deductibles. Dental is $27/month for all dependents and covers 2 free cleanings a year plus one set of xrays every 2 years. everyone else has up to an 80% co pay. Housing waiting lists can be anywhere from a week to 2 years long. depends on paygrade and bedroom entitlement, with the 4 BR units typically having the longest wait time as there are fewer of them available overall. The base housing office will have some leads for you, but as far as finding anywhere, you are on your own. you are only given reimbursement for temporary lodging for ten days. after that you must use BAH to cover any hotel bills. On base lodging is also typically limited as well.. you may only be able to stay up to 30 days

[DarrenG4806]

Medical is free and if dental runs around $20/month then a co-pay if any work is done (link for dental is below). I am in the Air Force, but have been lucky enough to spend 14 of my 19 years on Army posts. Usually when you arrive to a new base they will let you stay in TLF (Temporary Lodging Facility) for up to 10 days. Anything over 10 days is out of your pocket. When I got to Peterson AFB, CO the TLF was $33/night. Base housing waiting all depends on where you go. I was always able to get in under a month, but like they said it can take longer. If you have orders somewhere you can get on the waiting list before you arrive. http://www.tricaredentalprogram.com/tdptws/home.jspGood luck.

[Gyn-e4492]

My husband has been in the Army for going on 8 years now. We have had a wonderful experience with Tricare (Medical). We have three children, 2 of which tricare paid for the pregnancy, labor, delivery, checkups, prescriptions, etc...Here is a little information about tricare...If you are enrolled in Deers (which your husband will automatically do when joining the Army) you will not have any payments for medical as long as you use military facilities. If you are away from a military base, you may have co-payments on prescriptions and medical care, but they are usually pretty low. There is NO DEDUCTIBLE when you are on tricare! Tricare has a toll-free number that you can call when you are relocated to find out which doctors you may use and also to get referrals for specialists. The dental program is fairly cheap...around 30-35 dollars a month for the entire family. Your husband will get his dental care for free through the military. You and your family members will be able to get some work for free (cleanings, exams, etc..) but if you need any major work (fillings, caps, etc..) you will more than likely have to pay a co-payment. As far as I know...the Dental program usually covers 60% on most things. The waiting list for housing depends on the area. For example, if you are an E-2 in need of a 2 bedroom house, stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas there might not be a waiting list at all, whereas Fort Hood, Texas may have a 1 year waiting list. It all depends on the area and the space required. There are programs that can help you find affordable off base housing. The best thing for you to do...would be to visit your welcoming center as soon as you arrive at your post. They will be able to give you all kinds of information on different programs to help newly arriving families.I really hope this helps...Edit:Also, there are different types of tricare...Standard is usually what you are automatically enrolled in, but I highly recommend Prime, because it is the one that doesn't require co-payments, in most cases.

[akbutner29849]

if you choose Tricare Prime, which if you are living near a base and active, is the way to go then there is no deductable or cost for that matter. You have to go to a post medical clinic or a local military hospital for services and they will provide a PCM for you and your kids. If they cannot provide a service they will give you a referral to a civilian doctor. If you choose Tricare Standard which is a lot like a PPO (preferred provider) then you would pay deductables and co-pays which the amount is based on rank. I believe the typical deductable is $150. You would also pay 20% of the allowable cost of any visit cost. Dental does have a cost but I think it is pretty minimal. You would be seeing civilian doctors with Tricare Standard. If you need any info Tricare online is a good source.As far as Base housing on Army posts it will differ from base to base. I have heard varying time frames it just depends on the base. I have heard as long as 18 months and as little as 3 months. Just depends on the base. I know some housing offices may have ways to help you find listings of apartments, houses and townhouses in the area for rent. I would say you will mostly be on your own. He will I am sure get a briefing on most of this info when he is in AIT (advanced training after basic). We used www.ahrn.com when we PCSed to Texas. We found it helpful and pretty easy to use. Tell him to ask about that he will need to set up a long in. Anyways..good luck and best wishes!