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Members on Active Military Duty If you have individual coverage through Wellmark and are called to active military duty, your health insurance options depend on the length of your activation period:

• Activation period less than 31 days: Your Wellmark coverage will continue with no changes.
• Activation period more than 31 days: The government has a health insurance plan called Tricare that will cover you and your family. You will receive information about it directly from the military. If you have Tricare coverage, you can suspend your Wellmark coverage so that you are not responsible for premium payments while on active duty.

Notifying Wellmark of Active Military Duty
Follow these steps to suspend your Wellmark health insurance while on active military duty:

1. Confirm with the military that you are eligibile for Tricare.
    
2. Decide if you and your family will keep your Wellmark coverage or go with the Tricare health insurance plan.
    
3. If you choose Tricare for yourself, but keep Wellmark coverage for your family, you must submit an application for your family members. Your agent can help you with this process, or you can contact Customer Service at the number on the front of your ID card for an application. You must contact your agent for the application if you are a Farm Bureau member.
    
    If you do apply for coverage for your family members, Wellmark must receive your application within 31 days of the date you are on active military duty. If we receive the application within 31 days, your family members will not be subjected to medical underwriting.
    
4. Send Wellmark a copy of your military papers that includes your date of entry into active duty and a written statement requesting suspension of coverage. You may download, sign, and submit this sample statement  (10KB). Send these documents to:

Wellmark, Inc.
Membership & Enrollment
Station 300
636 Grand Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50309

You must send the request for suspension within 31 days of the date that you begin basic training or are called to active duty.

Reinstating Your Wellmark Coverage
After returning from active military duty, you may reinstate your Wellmark health insurance coverage without medical underwriting. In order to do so, you must notify us within 120 days of separation from the military service or being placed on inactive status.

You must send a request for us to reinstate coverage and a copy of your military papers that indicate your date of discharge or inactive status. Please send this information to:

Wellmark, Inc.
Membership & Enrollment
Station 300
636 Grand Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50309

If we do not receive this information within 120 days, you will need to reapply for coverage as a new member and your application will be subject to medical underwriting.

The effective date of your reinstated coverage will be the date of discharge or date of inactive status.

You will be responsible for all premiums due from the reinstatement effective date.