September is healthcare benefits awareness month

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tiffany Colburn
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  One of the things that people commonly have questions about are their health benefits. Luckily, the European Command named the month of September as healthcare benefits awareness month.

"This is the second year that we are celebrating September as the healthcare benefits awareness month," said Stephanie McNamara, 39th Medical Group TRICARE Office
Medical Service coordinator. "Last year was a big success; we found that a lot of people didn't know about their benefits, especially those who are stationed here as their first base."

The 39th MDG will be doing several events to get the word out to Team Incirlik.

"We will be briefing people at Commander's Calls and once a week the 39th MDG will be at the Commissary and Base Exchange to meet and greet members of the wing," said Mrs. McNamara. "There will also be stories posted on Incirlik Now once a week explaining your benefits."

The meet and greet allows members to talk to a 39th MDG member one-on-one and ask questions.

"One of the topics that people ask about is their dental benefits," said Mrs. McNamara. "Most stateside Medical Treatment Facilities do not see dependents. When you are stationed overseas, the Dental clinic will see family members of active duty on a space available basis. Although the Dental clinic will do routine annual exams and cleanings for dependents, we strongly urge our patients not to cancel their dependents insurance with United Concordia while they are stationed overseas. Cancelling could end up costing them more money in the long run."

There are many things that new members may find confusing coming to a new base, especially when it comes to updating your records.

"Another topic that confuses people is the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System," said Meziyet Demir 39th Medical Group TRICARE representative. "When you have a change of status, such as getting married or having a baby, you need to go the Military Personnel Flight and update their information in DEERS before we can enroll them in TRICARE."

To see a list of benefits go to www.tricareonline.com. Once online you can search for certain topics such as children going to college, getting married and separating from active duty.

"It is really easy to find what you are looking for on the TRICARE website," said Mrs. McNamara. "Just type in a keyword and it will take you right to the information you are interested in."

Having the month dedicated to health benefits allows the 39th MDG to get their information to the base and help everyone better understand their benefits.

"The EUCOM Health Benefits Awareness month is an excellent opportunity for our entire community to gain further knowledge of the health benefits and resources available to them," said Col. Kimberly Cox, 39th MDG commander. "Given our unique location and challenges in Turkey, I encourage all beneficiaries to use this opportunity to expand their awareness of all the available health benefits."