Are you a Military retiree or family member enrolled in Tricare Select? Pay attention to this.
There is a new monthly premium going into effect come January 2021, and you will be required to pay it in order to keep your insurance coverage.
The new fees come from a little known provision in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act.
The premiums only affect those who are on Tricare Select. If you use any of the other Tricare programs you will not incur the new premium.
Additionally, there are several groups who do NOT need to worry about the payment:
- Military retirees who got a medical discharge, along with their family members
- Survivors
- Active-duty Military members and their families
If you receive retired pay and are enrolled in Tricare Select, make sure beginning at the start of 2021 you pay the new monthly fee otherwise your coverage will be revoked.
FOR VETS ONLY: 7 Military discounts only available to those that served (not for civilians)
Important Tricare Details
Military.com has more important details:
Tricare requires most retirees to pay the enrollment fee via allotment. Surviving spouses and recipients of Survivor Benefit Plan payments will have to pay the fee via recurring payments from their debit or credit cards or Electronic Funds Transfer from their bank.
The last day retirees can start an allotment to ensure the payment is made on time is Nov. 20. If you don’t start an allotment by that date, you will have to make special arrangements with Tricare for payment of the fees.
If you don’t pay the fees before Jan. 1, 2021, your coverage will end and you will have 180 days from your last paid-through date to request reinstatement of coverage.
If you don’t start the allotment on time, you may also have to pay for one or more months coverage upfront while waiting for the allotment to process.
Depending on your Tricare contractor, you can set up your monthly payment by online self-service, phone or mail.
Group A and Group B Enrollment Fees
The monthly fee will be new for Military retirees classified by Tricare as “Group A,” which includes men and women who began serving before January 1st, 2018.
Those categorized as “Group B” have already had to pay an enrollment fee.
The fees for Group A beneficiaries is $150/year, and for a family it is $300/year. To get the monthly amount simply divide those numbers by 12.
If you would like more details, or to set up your allotment, reach out to your Tricare Regional Contractor.
