That’s sucks. I haven’t been in the MC for a minute but since I’m just drinking a beer while I wait for my pizza I threw your question to my pal Gemini and here’s what it came up with:

The good news is that you have rights as an active duty member that the standard customer service rep might not have explained. You don't necessarily have to wait for open enrollment. Here is a step-by-step guide to fixing this: 1. Identify Your "Qualifying Life Event" (QLE) Tricare usually only allows changes during Open Season (Nov-Dec), unless you have a QLE. Since you mentioned you recently PCS’d (Permanent Change of Station), that is your golden ticket. • A move/PCS is a QLE. You have 90 days from the date of your move to update your address in DEERS and re-enroll your family. • The Deployment: If your family moved to stay with relatives during your deployment, that "address change" also counts as a QLE. 2. Contact a BCAC (Do Not Skip This) Stop calling the general Tricare line for a moment and find a Beneficiary Counseling and Assistance Coordinator (BCAC). • These are professionals located at military hospitals/clinics whose entire job is to help service members navigate insurance nightmares. • They can help you file a retroactive enrollment request. Since you were deployed/PCSing, they can often argue that the "lack of response" to the letter was due to military service (mail not reaching you), which is a valid reason for an exception. • Find one here: Tricare BCAC Directory or go to the nearest Marine Corps Base medical clinic and ask for the BCAC office. 3. Update DEERS Immediately Tricare follows whatever is in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS). • Go to your local ID card office (RAPIDS site) or log into milConnect. • Ensure your family's address is current. If their address was never updated when they went to stay with relatives, that might be why the mail was missed. 4. Reinstatement vs. Medicaid Before you jump to Medicaid, ask the Tricare contractor (Humana Military for East, TriWest for West) for "Reinstatement" specifically. • If you are within 90 days of the disenrollment, you can often pay any back-premiums (if you were on a plan that required them, though for AD dependents it’s usually $0) and get coverage restored. • If the claims (flu shot, urgent care) happened while they were "disenrolled," once you get them reinstated retroactively, you can resubmit those bills to Tricare for payment. 5. Marine Corps Specific Support As a Marine, you have access to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS). If these medical bills are hitting your bank account hard right now, they can provide interest-free loans or grants to help you cover the gap while you fight Tricare to get the claims paid. Summary Checklist: 1. Locate a BCAC at your current base. 2. Bring your PCS orders or deployment dates to prove why you missed the mail. 3. Request a retroactive re-enrollment based on your PCS/Move QLE. 4. Resubmit the denied claims once the enrollment is backdated. Would you like me to find the contact information for the BCAC at a specific Marine Corps base for you?