Does the military insurance cover Lasik surgery?
Izzy asked:
I have been wearing contact lenses for over 14 years now and my glasses tend to give me headaches. I’m tired on relying on my contact to be able to see the world. Does anyone know if Tri-Care covers Lasik surgery.
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I have been wearing contact lenses for over 14 years now and my glasses tend to give me headaches. I’m tired on relying on my contact to be able to see the world. Does anyone know if Tri-Care covers Lasik surgery.
April 1st, 2009 at 2:51 am
as a dependent: NO.
for Active duty: only sometimes. priority is given to those who need the surgery for their job. it is space A for everybody else, and the waiting list can be years long. they will NOT cover it if you have it done on your own.
April 2nd, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Tricare doesn’t actually cover it. However, active duty personnel (at least AF, not sure about procedures/polices for other services) are authorized permissive tdy (no paid benefits other than normal base pay, just not charged normal leave) to one of the few AF bases that does it (usually PRK, not LASIK…but PRK is better anyways).
It’s just like any other out-patient procedure done at the base hospital by base personnel. Tricare will not cover it if you go to a civilian provider.
In the AF, once you pass the screening tests, the waiting list isn’t very long (at least not at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio). I only had to wait 3 weeks, but I’m told the average there is 6-8 weeks as they average 5-6 people every 45 mins for half a day, once a week and since they’ve lifted the ban on fliers (or at least most of them), everyone is trying to get it now. Still not a bad deal. I’ve gone from can’t see the wall to 20-10 in both eyes…all for free.
Again, I’m not sure if this applies to other services…but this is the Air Force answer.