What to Do in an Emergency

MILITARY GUIDANCE

*** WHAT TO DO IN AN EMERGENCY ***

In the case of a medical emergency, please dial 911 for an ambulance, or if you are able, proceed to your closest Emergency Room (ER) (military or civilian).

What constitutes an emergency?

As an individual it is up to you to decide what constitutes an emergency.

You do not need to seek permission or prior authorisationto use a military or civilian ER.Alltreatment received at the ER (including ambulance journeys) will be funded in full; the MOD will never refuse to fund treatment that occurred at an ER.

Please also be advised that you can go to the ER if you or a member of your family has a minor illness.The US ER and the UK A&E are different in this regard, as you do not need to be having a severe emergency in order to be treated at the ER.

Not all hospitals have 24 hour ER’s.Once you are settled in your new home, you will want to research where your closest ER is located, so that you know where to go in case of an emergency.

Visiting the ER

When you arrive at the ER, present your US Military ID and inform the administrative personnel that your insurance is Tricare. When asked for your Social Security Number, giveyour Foreign Identification Number (FIN) (or the sponsor’s FIN if you are a military dependant), whichis the 9 digit number starting with 9 that you must ask for when you receive your military ID.

If you are admitted to a civilian hospital through the ER for treatment as an inpatient, please inform the Healthcare and Education Department immediately.Tricare do not cover any inpatient care for patients (both active duty and their dependants) admitted to a civilian hospital for more than 23 hours.You will be enrolled for inpatient only care in the MOD’s private healthcare plan administered by Meritain Health.Once enrolled, you will need to provide the hospital with these new insurance details.

If you are active duty, you should not receive any bills for your care. If you do receive any bills with a patient responsibility, please contact the Healthcare and Education Department for assistance.

If you are a military dependant, you will receive bills for your care if you have visited a civilian ER. These are claimable expenses. Please see Destinyfor further guidance on making a claim.

Urgent Care Centers

Urgent Care Centers are small, walk-in clinics that are generally used by Americans who cannot afford healthcare insurance. They treat patients who have an injury or illness that requires immediate care, but is not serious enough to warrant a visit to an ER.

You are NOT covered for visits to Urgent Care Centers. If you use anUrgentCareCenter, it will not be funded by the MOD and all costs will be a personal expense.

Urgent Care Centers include Convenient Care Centers based in retail stores, including CVS’ ‘Minute Clinic’, Walgreen’s ‘Take Care Clinic’ and Target’s ‘Target Clinic’. They also include ‘Doc in a Box’, ‘Nurse in a Box’, ‘Express Care’ and ‘Patient First’ Centres. You must not use any of these facilities.

WARNING: THIS HANDOUT HAS BEEN PROVIDED TO YOU FOR USE WITHIN YOUR FIRST FEW MONTHS IN THE USA. THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN IT MAY NOT BE CURRENT AFTER THAT.

THIS DOCUMENT WILL BE REVIEWED EVERY THREE MONTHS, AND IS AVAILABLE ON DESTINY. PLEASE CHECK DESTINY PERIODICALLY TO SEE IF ANY UPDATES HAVE BEEN MADE.

21ST FEBRUARY 2013