My Notes app is the command center for my family.
Grocery lists. School reminders. Appointment dates. Passwords I will absolutely forget. Random things somebody asked me to do while I was doing three other things. After enough years of military life, I have a system for just about everything.
Except, apparently, knowing when to take another look at our military benefits.
I know we have them, and I know where to find information when I need it. I didn’t have a way to recognize when something in our lives had changed enough that I should go check our benefits.
So. I started what I’m calling my something-changed list.
The whole idea fits in one line: Something changed. Does it affect anything else?
I don’t have to know the answer, I just have to remember to ask.
Roshae Allen sees how often that step gets skipped. A veteran and military affairs representative with CareSource Military & Veterans, Allen works directly with military-connected families across the greater Atlanta area, including families of activated Guard and Reserve sponsors and retirees.
What I see so often is that an aspect of a military family member’s life has changed, but they didn’t realize it could impact their benefits,” said Allen. “It could be a status shift, a coverage adjustment, or something else entirely”
Under TRICARE, certain life changes, including activation, deactivation or losing other health coverage, can open a window to review your options. But first, you have to know something has changed.
That is harder when your daily life doesn’t run through an installation. Metro Atlanta is home to more than 300,000 veterans, according to 2024 American Community Survey data. It’s also a large, multi-service community, with Guard and Reserve families living and working throughout civilian neighborhoods. There is no gate to drive through every morning and nobody nearby to mention that the change that just occurred might impact your benefits.
“Most families do not have a trigger for that question,” Allen said. “They are managing a civilian job, a family, a drill schedule and a lot of other things. The military benefit piece does not always have someone in their daily life to prompt them.”
Nobody is studying their health coverage on a Tuesday night in case something changed. We’re dealing with the thing that changed.
That’s why the list works for me. It’s short.
A change in military status.
A change in other health coverage.
A significant family change.
Sometimes the answer is that nothing needs to happen, but I’d rather know that than assume it.
Knowing who to ask matters too. For eligible families in the Atlanta area, the TRICARE Prime Demo by CareSource Military & Veterans is one option worth understanding. Allen helps families figure out what questions to ask.
“The key is to stop assuming the answer is no,” Allen said. “A lot of the families I work with never look into their options because they assume they are locked in, it is too complicated, or nothing has changed enough to matter.”
Military families get very good at adjusting. Orders change, jobs change, schedules change and dinner still happens that night. We get good at adapting. That doesn’t mean we always know what to check next.
So, my Notes app has one more line in it now, somewhere between the grocery list and whatever somebody needs me to remember for school:
Something changed. Check.
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.
