{"id":60956,"date":"2018-11-01T18:26:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-01T18:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/11\/01\/will-some-military-retirees-miss-the-boat-on-new-dental-coverage\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:31:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:31:08","slug":"will-some-military-retirees-miss-the-boat-on-new-dental-coverage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/2018\/11\/01\/will-some-military-retirees-miss-the-boat-on-new-dental-coverage\/","title":{"rendered":"Will some military retirees miss the boat on new dental coverage?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Are military retirees getting the word about looming changes to their dental coverage<\/a>, and do older retirees in particular have the tools they need to make that decision?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some advocates are concerned about the upcoming transition from the Tricare Retiree Dental Program, which ends Dec. 31. It\u2019s being replaced by the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program<\/a> (FEDVIP), traditionally available to federal civilian employees, retirees and their families. But retirees are not automatically enrolled in the new FEDVIP coverage. They must enroll between Nov. 12 and Dec. 10, or they won\u2019t have coverage on Jan. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy biggest fear is that there are going to be so many retirees who are not going to get the word until they try to go to the dentist,\u201d said Frank Yoakum, a retired Army sergeant major who is executive director of the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States. \u201cThey\u2019ll find out they have no dental coverage. They missed the boat … so they have to wait until next year\u2019s open season to make a choice for 2020. They\u2019ll go without dental care for a year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 1.6 million beneficiaries are currently enrolled in the Tricare Retiree Dental Program, and another 1.3 million are eligible retirees who aren\u2019t currently enrolled in that program. All of those nearly 3 million beneficiaries are eligible for FEDVIP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DoD and Office of Personnel Management officials have taken a variety of steps to push out the word on social media and other avenues. While Defense Department officials have sent letters and postcards to military retirees <\/a>about the change, there may be some who didn\u2019t open the mail, or their current address hasn\u2019t been updated in the DoD system, Yoakum said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that train wreck is on its way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t