Every PCS comes with a list of things we know we’re going to have to start over.
A new grocery store. A new school routine. A new route that doesn’t require GPS. A new person to cut your hair who understands what “just a trim” means.
Some of it is part of the deal.
My family’s health care is one thing I’d rather not rebuild from scratch.
That sounds obvious until you’re actually moving. When orders come, there are houses to find, schools to research, boxes to pack and approximately 47 things that need to happen before somebody hands you a set of keys. Healthcare can easily become something you deal with once you get there.
Pamela Drake knows that pattern. As a military affairs representative with CareSource Military & Veterans, Drake works with military families across South Hillsborough and the greater Tampa Bay area. She is an Army veteran and military spouse, who has lived through military transitions herself.
“The coverage question is something I wish families were able to tackle sooner,” said Drake . “Everyone is understandably focused on schools and the house and getting settled, though, and I completely get it.”
Under TRICARE, a PCS is a qualifying life event. After updating DEERS, eligible beneficiaries have 90 days from the move date to make enrollment changes.
That’s the official part.
The part that’s on me is not relying on my own memory to reconstruct our family’s care on the other side.
So I’m adding a folder to my PCS system that I’m calling “don’t make me start over.”
Medical records go in there, obviously, but Drake made a distinction I hadn’t considered.
“The medical records tell a new provider what happened. A care summary tells them what matters,” Drake said.
Her suggestion: Before you leave, ask the specialist what they’d want a colleague taking over your care to know.
I keep coming back to that one. If someone in your family is managing ongoing specialty care, the chart has years of appointments, test results and treatment notes in it. A new provider can read all of that. What isn’t in there is what’s working, what you’re watching and what they should know before you walk through the door. That’s the part I don’t want to spend the first three appointments piecing back together.
Which raises the other question I’ve never asked before a move. Instead of assuming coverage works the way it did at the last duty station, what are our options here?
If someone in your family sees a specialist, that’s where I’d look first. For eligible families in the Tampa area, one option is the TRICARE Prime Demo by CareSource Military & Veterans, which includes access to in-network specialists without a referral. That could be one fewer step between the care summary in my folder and the person who needs to read it, and one less step in my PCS checklist.
None of this needs to make the PCS checklist longer. Mine certainly doesn’t need any help in that department.
Before the next move, I’m asking for the records. I’m asking the specialist what the next provider needs to know. I’m updating DEERS. And I’m checking what health plan options are available where we’re going.
I’ll still have to find the grocery store.
I’ll still miss the turn at least once.
The healthcare part, though, is coming with us.
Open Season runs Nov. 9 through Dec. 8, 2026. Learn more about CareSource Military & Veterans and available options in the Atlanta and Tampa areas at CareSourceMilitary.com.
