Overseas retirees to get dental benefits

[unhappycamper]

Overseas retirees to get dental benefits
By Jimmy Norris and Vince Little, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Tuesday, September 6, 2008

An upcoming change to Tricare soon could give military retirees living overseas reason to smile.

Beginning Oct. 1, those retirees will have access to dental insurance benefits that have been unavailable outside the United States, Tricare officials said in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes on Thursday.

Jeff Album, spokesman for Delta Dental, the California-based contractor that handles Tricare’s dental coverage, said the company expects about 14,000 of the 35,000 eligible retirees to take advantage of the optional program in its first year.

While the change is good news for many, it might not be cost-effective for every retiree living overseas, said Ed Chan, the Tricare Pacific director.

For instance, out-of-pocket expenses for dental care in the Philippines are generally much less than monthly insurance premiums, he said.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=57214

[FreakinDJ]

1. Much cheaper overseas

For instance, out-of-pocket expenses for dental care in the Philippines are generally much less than monthly insurance premiums, he said.

$4 teeth cleaning in the Philippines