military healthcare and adhd

[Anonymous]

Does tricare screen for things like adhd, dislexia, etc or do active duty dependents have to go off base and pay out of pocket for private screening?

How much does private screening for these things run?

[Anonymous]

They will do it if they have availability. Otherwise, they'll tell you that you need to do this privately, though they should cover that cost. They may tell you where to go though. You need to try to get the appointments first and they'll tell you whether they have availability for dependents or if they have too many active duty needs right now. This info is about 7-8 years old, but I bet it's much the same.

[Anonymous]

No clue if Tricare does this testing.

Private neuropsychological testing runs from $2500-4000.

If you can use TriCare out of network, Children's Hospital or the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore can be more affordable but the wait lists can be very long. The folks at Kennedy Krieger are very good at helping parents figure out insurance coverage ahead of time.

[Anonymous]

Thank you!

Do you know about dyslexia diagnosis?

I have been trying to find this information, but all my google searches yield pages about active duty or new recruiting standards.

[Anonymous]

They have developmental peds and neuropsych at Bethesda. You need a referral. Not sure about dyslexia but they will definitely do adhd and asd.

[Anonymous]

Tricare will pay. Ask your ped for a referral to the developmental ped. They have all kinds of services, including a pediatric mental health.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They have developmental peds and neuropsych at Bethesda. You need a referral. Not sure about dyslexia but they will definitely do adhd and asd.

They also have them at Ft. Belvior (not sure about neuropsych but I know they have developmental ped's and other specialist there). Developmental peds, at least our experience is very generous with services. The key is going to a developmental ped. We could not get services through the regular ped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you!

Do you know about dyslexia diagnosis?

I have been trying to find this information, but all my google searches yield pages about active duty or new recruiting standards.

What does medical care have to do with active duty or recruiting standards. You need to go through health net/tricare (but they are changing the provider in our region soon). However, they often say they will not pay for something online and we've found they will pay. Start with the developmental ped. Your ped. can give you a referral. It usually takes a month or two to get in depending on how booked up they are. Last time I heard they only had two. For ADHD, you may be able to self refer to the child mental health clinic (and they may be able to refer you for services too) so call them while you are waiting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No clue if Tricare does this testing.

Private neuropsychological testing runs from $2500-4000.

If you can use TriCare out of network, Children's Hospital or the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore can be more affordable but the wait lists can be very long. The folks at Kennedy Krieger are very good at helping parents figure out insurance coverage ahead of time.

Tricare pays for Children's, KK and a a few other places if they do not have the specialists. Walter Reed and Ft. Belvior have most specialists now. Not sure about Ft. Mead and Andrew's and the smaller clinics. You are much better off doing it inside Tricare as it makes referrals much easier. They often do not accept outside reports and have you redo them with their staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They will do it if they have availability. Otherwise, they'll tell you that you need to do this privately, though they should cover that cost. They may tell you where to go though. You need to try to get the appointments first and they'll tell you whether they have availability for dependents or if they have too many active duty needs right now. This info is about 7-8 years old, but I bet it's much the same.

What are you talking about? They have plenty of appointments, even 7-8 years ago. Maybe the smaller clinics but the bigger hospitals are not an issue and they need the bigger hospital.

[Anonymous]

OP, you can self refer for the mental health at Walter Reed (probably the same for Ft. Belvior). They clearly say they work with ADHD (I would also get into developmental ped's as well).

http://www.wrnmmc.capmed.mil/Health%20Services/Behavioral%20Health/SitePages/Child%20and%20Adolescent%20Behavioral%20Health.aspx

[Anonymous]

tricare would not approve our daughter's neuropsych. We paid about $2K out of pocket. We were prime at Ft. Meade at the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:tricare would not approve our daughter's neuropsych. We paid about $2K out of pocket. We were prime at Ft. Meade at the time.

Did you do it through the developmental ped or regular ped? All the service requests through our ped were always turned down but we always get them through the developmental ped. They turned down one assessment we wanted because it was out of region. (If we lived locally, they would have paid). We were told they would pay for a neuropsych at age 7, if it was still needed. When we went for the 7 year old apt, they decided it wasn't necessary. The developmental ped does a few basic tests when we go. Walter Reed is much better for pediatric specialities. We have also gone to Ft. Belvior years ago as they had a specialist I found out about who was excellent but did evaluations only/no treatment. They've been very generous with services for our child once we got to the right person. I think it also helps if you go to active duty over civilians.

[Anonymous]

More information - it may be how the referral was put in the system for the Ft. Mead poster.

https://tricare.mil/CoveredServices/IsItCovered/MentalHealthTherapeuticServices

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you!

Do you know about dyslexia diagnosis?

I have been trying to find this information, but all my google searches yield pages about active duty or new recruiting standards.

What does medical care have to do with active duty or recruiting standards. You need to go through health net/tricare (but they are changing the provider in our region soon). However, they often say they will not pay for something online and we've found they will pay. Start with the developmental ped. Your ped. can give you a referral. It usually takes a month or two to get in depending on how booked up they are. Last time I heard they only had two. For ADHD, you may be able to self refer to the child mental health clinic (and they may be able to refer you for services too) so call them while you are waiting.

Until very recently (I think this year) taking medication for adhd blocks a person from joining the military. The standards were recently relaxed so I think that is why military recruitment and enlistment stuff is popping up first