I have Tricare also. I have Prime though. I had my surgery in Nov 13th. The 6mo of a supervises diet is a huge requirement by Tricare. Without it, it will be denied. The way around paying for it out of pocket is to just see your PCM and talk about weight loss each month. Have them give you a plan to follow bad if it doesn't work to talk about trying something else the next month. That's what I did. But they need to keep detailed notes. While seeing your PCM, it counts. That's how I got mine. The surgeon submitted my paperwork at 1:00pm and by 2:30pm Tricare called hem to approve it.