Tricare VS Under Insured Motorist Coverage

Few veterans are aware there is a state law that entitles their health care insurer… including Tricare… to place a lien against their car insurance’s Under Insured Motorist (UIM) policy.

All the time military are on active duty we are told our pay may be lower than our civilian counterparts but we are earning lifetime medical coverage for ourselves and our spouse upon retirement. They even mailed out an annual statement that placed a hypothetical dollar value on this future benefit.

All car insurance companies offer us a UIM they say will pay for our needs in the event the other party to the accident either have no insurance or are under insured to cover the severity of our loss. It sounds like a great buy. Plan ahead. Protect your loved ones.

What neither the military nor the insurance company tell us is that in the state of Texas (actually in most states) there is a law that gives someone’s health insurance carrier first rights to the proceeds of that UIM. If a civilian paid a monthly fee for health insurance coverage that should pay for treatment of your injuries this sounds like double indemnity.

If you are a veteran who spent your entire career being under paid, putting your life on the line to then find out when you need it most the insurance payout you paid for out of pocket is instead going to be handed over to Tricare… THIS IS AN OUTRAGE.

Texas needs to make Veterans EXEMPT from their UIM paid to Health Insurance Carrier laws.