When I first read about this new DEERS/Tricare web resource, I was beyond skeptical. In general these things never work for me like they are supposed to, require complicated new and unique password/logins that I immediately forget, need my husband’s stamp of approval (which he never gets around to doing – bro is busy!) for me to access … and on and on and on. It’s just not worth it.
I’m happy to say that this one seems to be a little different. The new MilConnect portal has apparently been around for awhile under “mydodbenefits” but has been redesigned to work better. Since I never used the past site, I can’t compare the two – but I can tell you that this one is fabulous.
The site gives you the capability to update your home address (something we do once a year, or so it seems), view your Tricare provider info, make sure your military-provided life insurance is what it’s supposed to be, transfer GI Bill benefits, and link directly to your Tricare account where you can change your healthcare manager. Glory be!
That’s a bunch of things I would normally have to drag myself to some office for that I can now do in my pajamas. How do I know? I just tested it. Yes, while wearing my pajamas (just to prove that I could).
Here are my favorite things about this site:
- Ease of logging in. I didn’t have to create any sort of new password or dig up any crazy, long forgotten log-in info. To get on you simply need to enter your DFAS myPay log-in, DOD Self-Service or DS log-on. You can also access it using a common access card (probably more handy for your spouse than you). Since I am obsessed with checking out our pay stubs, I know my husband's myPay log-in like the back of my hand. I entered it, without having to use the obnoxious myPay password keypad by the way, and tada! I was in. I just sat here a minute blinking in disbelief. Surely it could not have been that easy. But it was.
- Access to information. Since we were farmed out to civilian doctors after moving to our current duty station, I am constantly (and I really mean constantly) forgetting the names of the doctors to which we are assigned. It’s kind of hard to make an appointment for your sick kid when you can’t remember where he’s supposed to go. Thanks to this site, however, now I can easily log-in and look up this mystery doctor’s name. Done! Whew.
- Access to Tricare/DEERS. One of those sites I’ve always had trouble remembering log-in information for is the site that lets me mess with our primary care manager information. Since I’m apparently incapable of doing anything about that, I always end up trotting down to an office, waiting in line and dealing with it in person. That’s hardly ideal. MilConnect, however, has a direct link on the right side of the page that takes me to “Beneficiary Web Enrollment” where I was able to change my kid’s doctor easily. And just like that, one less thing on my to-do list that I’ve been putting off since we moved here in July.
My only complaint:
I couldn’t find any way to view pending referral requests. Since I got a roto-call Sunday telling me I have a pending referral (which I was previously unaware of) I thought it would be super handy to be able to log-on and figure out what the heck they were talking about. But no dice.
Overall, though, this is an incredibly easy to access, use, and hassle free site. Two points for MilConnect!
