While deployed, the mission and focus was clear. Since returning home, your day-to-day life may not be nearly as clear. Are you feeling unusually sad, tired, frustrated or angry? Are you concerned that there is something physically wrong? Having trouble sleeping or concentrating? Have you lost the desire to talk to friends or relate to loved ones? You are not alone. Just as the Department of Defense (DoD) monitors the medical readiness of troops before deployment, they also have a program to help safeguard the health, fitness and well-being of Service members after deployment.

The Post-Deployment Health Reassessment (PDHRA) can help you identify any potential medical issues as well as any feelings that you may have as a result of post-combat stress that impact your enjoyment of life. Completing the PDHRA will connect you with a medical or behavioral health professional and give you the opportunity to express those concerns.

When do I take the PDHRA?

Ideally, you should complete the PDHRA between 90 and 180 days after returning home. The DoD estimates that many deployment-related health problems may not present themselves until three to six months after returning. Taking time to reflect on your deployment and your experiences after deployment may help you identify questions or concerns that may have developed over time.

How do I complete the PDHRA?

You will complete the assessment online. Each service uses a different system, so please check with your medical department personnel for more detailed information and instructions.

What happens after the PDHRA?

After you complete the online assessment, you will be contacted by a health care provider. The health professional will identify any additional care or treatment you may need, based on your health concerns or any deployment-related health questions that you may have.

Your family may grow in many ways—birth, adoption or marriage (Qualifying Life Events). Make sure that your TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) health care benefits extend to the new members of your family by keeping them eligible and enrolled.

As soon as the new member of your family is registered in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS), they are eligible for coverage under TRS. You, as the TRS sponsor, will have to enroll your eligible family members to begin coverage.

• Log into the Reserve Affairs Guard and Reserve Web Portal, fill in and print out a TRS Request Form, sign the form and submit it to TriWest Healthcare Alliance (postmarked) within 60 days to ensure coverage is retroactive to the date of the Qualifying Life Event (QLE).

If you already had TRS Member-Only coverage, your spouse, newborn or adopted child is not covered until the new family member is both registered in DEERS and enrolled in TRS. If the TRS Request Form and a premium payment at the new Member-and-Family rate of $253 is received (or postmarked) by TriWest within 60 days of the QLE, coverage will be effective on the date of the event.

If the form and payment are both received after 60 days, TRS coverage will not be effective until the first of the month after you submit the TRS Request Form and you will be responsible for the cost of any care received by your family members before they were enrolled.

Remember, your monthly TRS premium will increase when you change to family coverage.

If you are enrolled with TRS Member-and-Family coverage, your new child is covered under TRS automatically for 60 days. Register your child in DEERS as soon as possible and enroll the child (submit the TRS Request Form) within 60 days of the birth or adoption to ensure continuous TRS coverage. Without enrollment, TRICARE coverage for the child ends on day 61 and does not begin again until after you submit a TRS Request Form for the child.

As long as the sponsor and the parent are married, stepchildren eligible in DEERS will have TRICARE coverage. In a divorce, stepchildren will lose eligibility. Stepchildren adopted by the sponsor retain their eligibility after a divorce.

If a family member is independently eligible for a Federal Employee Health Benefit (FEHB) program, they are not eligible to enroll in TRS. If the sponsor is eligible for FEHB program, the sponsor and family members lose eligibility for enrollment into TRS.

After submitting the enrollment form or enrolling online into TRICARE Prime, you will receive an enrollment card along with a letter identifying your primary care manager (PCM). You should copy the PCM information onto your card for reference.

The TRICARE Prime card is NOT required to obtain care, but does contain information such as your Prime enrollment effective date. A military identification (ID) card or Common Access Card (CAC) will be required when you receive care. Although the TRICARE Prime enrollment card is important to have when you receive any health care services from a TRICARE-network provider, it cannot be used to verify your TRICARE eligibility. Your eligibility will always be confirmed with the information in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) database. To help avoid any problems with claims or eligibility, make sure you update your DEERS information whenever there is a change.

You can request a new enrollment card when you have logged into TRICARE’s Beneficiary Web Enrollment (BWE) site. The card will be sent to your mailing address listed in DEERS. Users can also log into their www.triwest.com account and make the request for an enrollment card using the secured Web mail option. You may also call TriWest Customer Service at 1-888-TRIWEST (874-9378) and request a replacement card.

To use TRICARE benefits, eligible family members must have a valid uniformed services or military ID card. Family members must also be registered in the DEERS database. Children under 10 years of age do not usually require an ID card, but must be listed (and show as eligible) in DEERS.

All children need to be registered in DEERS and can then be enrolled into TRICARE Prime or Prime Remote. When your child reaches age 10, they should have their own ID card to use for accessing their TRICARE benefits. Families using TRICARE Standard and Extra for services will need valid military ID cards as well.

A TRICARE-eligible child younger than 10 needs their own uniformed services ID card if they are living with:

• A parent who is ineligible for TRICARE benefits
• A guardian (who is not a parent)

Find your local uniformed services ID card office and call for the hours of operation and for required forms and other information if you or a family member needs a new military ID card.

TriWest’s National Guard and Reserve Resource Center offers the latest TRICARE information for Reserve Component members, keeping you informed about your active duty and TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) benefits, including an online streaming video briefing of your benefits.


To instantly check claims, authorizations and referrals, and receive instant authorization and referral notification via QuickAlert e-mail, be sure to set up an online account. You can even securely pay your monthly TRS premium through TriWest’s secure online payment system.

Once you’ve entered the main Beneficiary Services page, you can easily find a form, search for a provider, or visit TriWest’s Behavioral Health Portal to get information for Service members and their families.

While online, check out these areas:

• Claims – Find out how to file a claim, check claim status and update your other health insurance.
• Authorizations and Referrals – Learn about the authorizations/referrals process and register to receive a QuickAlert e-mail once an authorization or referral is processed in your name.
• Enrollment – Learn how to enroll in TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Prime Remote, change your primary care manager and download the appropriate forms.
• Life Changing Events – Ensure you and your family remain TRICARE-eligible during life events such as retirement, marriage, or having a baby.
• Healthy Living – Find tips to maintain a healthy lifestyle, review a schedule of recommended immunizations you and your family may need and much more.