Family Retention: Medical Care/EFMP
By Sally Velez | DEPLOY Family Retention Fellow
My previous blog discussed schools, my experience(s), and helpful resources. I hope someone found my writing useful and will also find this next subject beneficial. My family has been EFMP-coded since my husband first joined the service. We did not have children when he joined; we were EFMP-coded because of me. My being coded has not kept us from being stationed at some pretty amazing locations, like England. It helps that why I am coded as EFMP is relatively mild, and that is noted within all of my medical documentation. I have been lucky in that aspect. Our most recent move was two years ago to the D.C. area, and my family had to go through the EFMP approval process. For the first time, we were asked if we or our children were seeing a psychiatrist or therapist for mental health reasons. We responded as no, because I only saw the two specialists I saw every so often. The EFMP office told us that if we were seeing specialists for mental health reasons, my husband's orders would have been canceled because even though the D.C. area is large, there are not enough providers to ensure we would have access to care. My husband and I were surprised to hear that, but we went about our move with no real concern. None of us needed to see a therapist or psychiatrist. Until we did.
Nearly four months after our move, I received a phone call that was, for me, life-changing. One of my children had a plan. I had no idea where to start when it came to seeking help. I didn’t know that the nearest hospital had a pediatric inpatient ward. We had just moved to the area! I did the first thing I could think of: I called the TRICARE Nurse Advice Line. I was a distraught, crying mess. Thankfully, the Tricare Nurse Advice Line was able to help me. They contacted an acute inpatient hospital for me to take my child to. My child was there for about two and a half weeks after we had to secure a therapist and psychiatrist for them. I successfully found both, with no wait times, which is almost unheard of. Unfortunately for us, by the end of the academic year and through the summer and fall, my child was in and out of hospitalizations. My family is over the hurdle we faced; our child is doing much better, but it doesn’t negate that we are now navigating registering them in EFMP.
My story may be a different path from others, but the fact is, many of us have gone from not needing to navigate EFMP to needing to register. For me, the registration process has been complicated. I cannot utilize the EFMP office on the installation where I live because my family is not in the Army or Navy. I must drive about 30 minutes away (sometimes longer due to traffic) to a different military installation and use the EFMP office there. It doesn't matter that my child's medical care team is all at the hospital nearest me, where the EFMP office I cannot use is located. It has been a run around for my family, and I need to dedicate a day to attending to EFMP processes, but it is exhausting and draining. I am partially avoiding it because I have been frustrated with the process. I have been lucky because my husband is not due for orders to PCS soon, but that window will eventually close, and I know I need to register my child in EFMP by the end of summer. I recently found this cool checklist on Military OneSource that I hope will help make the process less stressful. As I have previously said, I love checklists. They make me happy.
I don't think I am the only person with difficulty registering their child in EFMP, and I am curious if anyone else has faced similar challenges. My time here at Blue Star Families has ensured I have access to relevant data and connections with other organizations, such as Exceptional Families of the Military and Partners in PROMISE, who advocate for EFMP families and provide a safe space for EFMP families to share their stories. I have had the opportunity to meet individuals breaking glass ceilings by advocating for change and walking the walk, much like Blue Star Families has done since its inception in 2009.
The 2023 Military Family Lifestyle Survey highlights that military families that have their child EFMP-coded for mental health reasons find it difficult to access care. I haven't experienced the challenge that the survey highlights, but I have experienced difficulty registering my child into the EFMP system. I know my story is different from others. My family has had immediate access to mental health care, we have had access to medical care in general, and even though the referral process can be cumbersome and frustrating, we don't have a copay and don't need to worry about a deductible for medical care. Not everyone has the luxury we have. Many families are paying out of pocket for mental health care. Some niche providers don't accept TRICARE, and families are paying out of pocket for needed services. There are many reasons why a military family is having difficulty accessing medical care. As exhausting as it can be, we must continue advocating for ourselves and our families because if not us, then who?