Question:
How long does it take Tricare to approve surgey?

Greetings, I have just found out that my info will be submitted to Tricare insurance for approval. My question is how long will it take to be approved. She said that it should take no longer than two weeks, but I have heard that Tricare takes a day in some cases. I really need to be scheduled for surgery as soon as possible. Any Tricare people out there that have the answer to my question? Thank you so much in advance.    — Keiba K. (posted on January 17, 2003)

January 17, 2003
I have Tricare Prime and it took 2 days for me to be approved to see the surgeon for eval and treatment, so unoffically I have been approved for the surgery. After I have my one on one with the surgeon and my Pysh eval he will send to tricare for approval on the surgery, I am thinking they already approved the surgeon, so maybe one day to approve the surgery. Look at the insurance section on this site and find Tricare, that will help you, there is other people that have this insurance and the time frame that they waited. Hope this helps.
   — cindy

January 17, 2003
Hiya! I have TriCare Prime. My paperwork was faxed from the surgeon to TriCare on a Friday, and I was approved on the following Tuesday, so about 2 business days for me. The key to my quick approval was finding out the name of the nurses who made the initial approval/disapproval and then calling them. I had surgery on the 17th of December. GOOD LUCK!!! :)
   — SuzAnne S.

January 17, 2003
hey there.. mine took about 2 weeks to go thru..
   — johanna F.

January 17, 2003
I have not submitted my paperwork yet for approval, but I did talk to my local Tricare office. I spoke with the nurse who approves or denies the referrals. She said that they try to approve everything with in a 24-48 hour period. It is when the paperwork is sent on to the second level to see if it can approved, that is when It takes longer. This is only done if they have a question on wether or not it is medically necessary-kinda like a second opinion. Good Luck.
   — Jan S.

January 18, 2003
I think it may depend on where you are stationed...We are at Bragg and it didnt take long to get approved but the waiting list for the surgery was a killer...I was first seen by my surgeon on Jan 16,02 and just had surgery Jan 7,03 so the wait is awhile depending on who does the surgery. Good luck!!
   — Kathy C.

January 20, 2003
I was referred to my surgeon and saw him for the first time on April 15, 2002. I received approval from TriCare on April 19, 2002, and had my surgery on May 20, 2002! I could have had my surgery a week earlier, but I had relatives coming to visit that week, so had to postpone 1 week. Good luck and don't give up!
   — Lynn H.