TRICARE supports the ability to cover medical costs when you are enrolled in any of the packages they offer. Under Prime, you are guaranteed an immediate appointment, often on the same day you are sick. Coverage includes preventive checks, such as pap spears, mammograms, and prostate screenings. Enrolling in the Prime program in a minimum of 12 months will establish your health care plan in TRICARE Prime. Other programs include TRICARE Extra, and TRICARE Standard; for the families who wish to seek civilian care from doctors and specialists from a select network in the local community, and for family members who wish to have civilian doctors provide their outpatient care, respectively. The latter two do not require you to enroll.
The differences between these three programs come in the availability and requirements for each. Between the Extra and Standard packages, you are not required to enroll, but you are expected to enroll in TRICARE Prime as a starter. As an individual, the Extra and Standard programs are more fitting, because of the role of Prime as a family-benef…