Military retirees: Lack of Tricare Prime in WNC - any ideas? (Asheville: insurance, job market)

[Tothe mountains]

We are planning on moving to the Waynesville area as early retirees. My husband is retired military and we currently have Tricare Prime coverage, which we like as it limits our exposure to large medical bills in exchange for the annual fee.

BUT _ we just found out that there are no Tricare Prime Primary Care Managers in WNC, so we either have to move to E Tennessee (Newport, Sevierville, Maryville) which does have them or ????

Has any one else faced this? And what did you do?

[drfranklin]

Unfortunately, finding a *private* primary care physician that accepts Tricare is very difficult these days due to 2 main reasons: poor reimbursement and their crushing bureaucracy of paperwork.

However, nearly all Community Health Clinics (CHC) take Tricare (and almost all insurances for that matter) - just find a local CHC and call. Go to: North Carolina Community Health Center Association - and "search" for the nearest CHC. There are no CHC's in Haywood county but there are 3 in Buncombe.

Tricare is well known (in the medical arena) as a *difficult* organization to deal with - especially considering how little they pay docs. The US military really deserves something much better.

[Tony1790]

I'm a military retiree, I've never had a problem using Tricare nor finding a provider. I looked on tricare.mil and couldn't find a tricare prime within 50 miles of Waynesville, NC. I just have to say wow.

I'm in the Humana contract region and there are hundreds of Pricary care choices.

To the Mountains: Why not consider Johnson City, TN? I am from Buncombe County, grew up in Asheville and Black Mountain, NC but I live in Johnson City, TN now as a military retiree. No income taxes, or annual car taxes in TN, lower property price & property taxes in TN. Johnson City has a huge VA med ctr, East TN University right in town and little to no traffic or crowding.

Waynesville is nice, so is Johnson City, I just get to keep more of my retirement money by living in Johnson City and I still get to enjoy the mountains.

Good luck on your Tricare PCM search, I have an appointment with mine on friday in a brand new facility, to me it's better than using military health care as well.

Take care

Tony in Tn

[Tothe mountains]

Thanks so much for suggesting an alternative Tony. Yes, we were really shocked to find no Tricare Prime providers - honestly it hadn't occurred to us that it would be a problem.

We were interested to hear that you like JC as much as the Asheville area - what would you say are the pros and cons of living in each place - apart from Tricare and taxes

Thanks very much for your help

Suzanne and Chris

[Tony1790]

Originally Posted by Tothe mountains

Thanks so much for suggesting an alternative Tony. Yes, we were really shocked to find no Tricare Prime providers - honestly it hadn't occurred to us that it would be a problem.

We were interested to hear that you like JC as much as the Asheville area - what would you say are the pros and cons of living in each place - apart from Tricare and taxes

Thanks very much for your help

Suzanne and Chris

Other than health care, taxes and cost of living?? What else is there

Seriously though, people are people and scenery is scenery, Western NC and East TN are very very close in both. Both places are nice, have nice scenery. What does it for me is the ability to be with in 2 miles of downtown, be able to get anywhere in town at any time and not have to worry about traffic or thugs roaming the streets

But I'm very pragmatic, I live less than 3 miles from East TN state univ and it's located across the street from the VA and Johnson city medical center, both good centers of employment and health care. I don't have to worry about my meager retirement going out as income tax and I don't have to worry about high property tax or having to pay ransom on my car annually to the state for the right to keep it.

We may be different retiree's though, I'm enlisted (E7) if you are retired officers then, forget about it, you'd make enough that you can afford WNC and don't worry about E TN. I like both places, if everything were equal I'd have a harder time choosing. I grew up in WNC, but I like being able to get anywhere in town in 5 - 10 mins vs someplace like Asheville with the bigger traffic issues.

If you can afford WNC and enjoy it, then you may wish to stay there. But you should take a day trip over to Johnson City have some coffee at starbucks and walk around the VA campus, see what you think. Can't go wrong with either location, WNC and E TN are both great!

Take care
Tony
Chief Boatswains Mate, USCG (ret)

[gsp4ever]

Jobs are very hard to find in East Tennessee. They generally don't pay well and it's often necessary to have insider connections to get them. If you will need employment to supplement your military retirement then Johnson City, Kingsport or Bristol could be problematic for you. I realize the job market is bad in many locations but East Tennessee has traditionally been an impoverished area which is why the cost of living is lower. If you read some of the posts in their forum, you'll get the picture.

[Tony1790]

Originally Posted by gsp4ever

Jobs are very hard to find in East Tennessee. They generally don't pay well and it's often necessary to have insider connections to get them. If you will need employment to supplement your military retirement then Johnson City, Kingsport or Bristol could be problematic for you. I realize the job market is bad in many locations but East Tennessee has traditionally been an impoverished area which is why the cost of living is lower. If you read some of the posts in their forum, you'll get the picture.

All true, E Tenn is not a place to move to if you NEED to find work, but neither is Asheville. It's not like Asheville is a mecca of well paying jobs, there you get relatively low wages with a high cost of living

Asheville's big draw is retirees, I'd just as soon be a retiree in E. TN, but that's just me

Btw, if the military retiree is within 3 years of departure from the military, they can apply at the VA in JC or Asheville under the hiring authority and get jobs not open to the public.

Good luck to my fellow retirees or anyone else who is wanting to move to WNC or E TN, both great places, but your mileage may vary depending on your circumstances.

Tony

[bound2TN]

Dear Friends:
I was interested in this series of postings. I too am retired (AF) and am in the process of moving to Bristol, TN. I just did a search on the TRICARE website and found twenty one "family practice" doctors in the area who are (supposedly) "accepting new patients." I will be in the area next week and will be doing a further "boots on the ground" check. Wish me luck. Incidently, I am under TRICARE For Life (over age 65.)

[Tony1790]

Originally Posted by bound2TN

Dear Friends:
I was interested in this series of postings. I too am retired (AF) and am in the process of moving to Bristol, TN. I just did a search on the TRICARE website and found twenty one "family practice" doctors in the area who are (supposedly) "accepting new patients." I will be in the area next week and will be doing a further "boots on the ground" check. Wish me luck. Incidently, I am under TRICARE For Life (over age 65.)

They are supposed to be opening a new VA clinic in Bristol, TN, but the main VA hospital is in Johnson City. There is a good hospital in Bristol (where I work). There are several doctors in the area that take tricare, even though they may be full, they can agree to take new patients on Tricare (that's what my Doc did).

Good luck, this is a good area. Unless you have a place in mind already, I think the Johnson City area is very nice and worth a look.

Tony in TN

[paintdog52]

Thanks for great insight Tony. I'm retired AF looking to move from OH to that area. I've been there years ago (many time) and like it. Will give a look around the area and see what I can find.