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Losing TRICARE Eligibility? Don’t Lose Your Health Care Coverage

  • Published
  • By TRICARE.mil Staff
  • Communications Division, Defense Health Agency
FALLS CHURCH, Va. --  You can lose your TRICARE eligibility for a number of reasons. TRICARE offers several resources to make sure you and your family members have access to health care until you can find a more permanent solution. Make sure you are aware of when your coverage ends so you can get new health care coverage. Don’t be caught without it!

Sponsors and eligible family members may be covered by the Transitional Assistance Management Program (TAMP) after losing TRICARE eligibility. TAMP extends TRICARE eligibility for specific beneficiaries. It provides 180 days of premium-free transitional health care benefits after regular TRICARE benefits end.

Active duty service members with certain service-related conditions are eligible for coverage beyond the 180 days covered by TAMP. This coverage is called Transitional Care for Service-Related Conditions (TCSRC).

Once TAMP eligibility expires and you are no longer eligible for any other TRICARE health plan, you can enroll in the Continued Health Care Benefit Program (CHCBP). CHCBP is purchased coverage that acts as a bridge between TRICARE coverage and your new health coverage. It is typically limited to 36 months.

Another option for health care coverage is the Health Insurance Marketplace. For those who do not have TRICARE, lose DoD sponsored coverage, and are not eligible for Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan coverage, you can search for other health care options through the Health Insurance Marketplace. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires most Americans, including TRICARE beneficiaries and DoD employees, have minimum essential health care coverage (MEC), or pay a tax penalty for each month that you and the other individuals listed on your tax form do not have coverage.

If you know your TRICARE eligibility is ending, be proactive and make sure you and your family are covered. Open enrollment for 2016 starts November 1, 2015 and runs through January 31, 2016. You can get more information on the Marketplace at www.healthcare.gov.