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I just started using Tricare to pay medical bills in Brazil this year. Medicare pays zero outside the USA (with a few exceptions, but not Brazil.)  Tricare only pays a max of 75% OCONUS, as opposed to a near 100% topoff after Medicare in the USA.

In short:

1. you need receipts: I file a Nota Fiscal plus either a credit card receipt or a PIX comprovante. So tell your provider up front that you NEED a NF to receive insurance reimbursement.
2. some Drs want payment in cash. If they also provide a Nota Fiscal it may be approved by TRICARE (I have not tried yet). Legally, in Brazil a NF is proof of payment, but DOD’s contractor may not understand.
3. you can file online or by mail, but I would not use mail from OCONUS.
4. you can filed online through a really bad website  portal operated by DOD’s vendor Getting registered is not user-friendly. Once registered expect problems.
5. I’ve found that the crappy Tricare website portal strips off attachments (pdf) during transmittal. But there is no way to know this until a month later when the vendor requests documentation that you already sent.
6. The Tricare vendor advertises a 30 day response time for a request for reimbursement. I’m 80% over 30 days so far, 100% caused by their errors or faulty website.
7. Translation: the vendor has translators, but I have not relied on them. On every receipt  I annotate each PDF page with a translation in red ink. So far this has worked.
8. if you don’t have proficiency in using Adobe software and Goodreader to convert paper docs (receipts) to pdfs that you can send, find a young person who does.

Best of luck, Chief!

JR

Oi, JR! 

Great sit-rep!  Thank you so much for the feedback on TriCare!  I really appreciate your suggestions on making their site more user friendly!  (I'm still waiting for an answer to my last submission which is way over 30 days!) 

Muito obrigado, JR!

Jim

@chefjim

Hey Jim, I wish you well in your adventure in Rio Grande do Sur. I had experience using Tricare Prime while in Brasilia two years ago (I won't start TFL until Nov). I collected my receipts and processed them when I returned to the States.  I did this for a couple of reasons: I'm spending more than 50% of my time in USA and want to maintain my Tricare in the Northern Virginia district, and also I felt that it would be easier to communicate to process the claim in the USA. I will tell you that, although I got outstanding service at the private hospital in Brasilia, and that it was MUCH cheaper than US prices, I only got a percentage of my expenses reimbursed. Boa sorted. Eric