When Does Military Health Insurance Start?
Understand when military health insurance coverage begins based on your unique status and circumstances. Get clear answers on eligibility timing.
Military health insurance provides coverage for service members, retirees, and their families. The exact start date for this coverage varies significantly, depending on an individual’s specific military status. Understanding these initiation points is important for continuous access to healthcare benefits.
Active Duty Service Members: Initial Coverage
Health insurance for active duty service members begins immediately upon entry into service. Coverage starts on their first day, ensuring immediate access to medical care. Active duty service members are automatically enrolled in TRICARE Prime, the Department of Defense’s health care program, or its equivalent in remote locations. Their information is automatically added to the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS), the database for accessing military benefits. This automatic enrollment provides seamless healthcare access from day one.
Family Members: Enrollment and Coverage Start
Family members of active duty service members are eligible for health coverage, but their enrollment requires specific actions. Eligibility is linked to the service member’s status and necessitates DEERS registration. To register family members in DEERS, the service member must provide documentation such as marriage certificates for spouses, birth certificates for children, and Social Security cards for all family members. Registration can be completed in person at a military ID card office, through online portals, or by mail, often requiring a DD Form 1172.
Once registered in DEERS, family members must enroll in a specific TRICARE plan, such as TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Select. This enrollment is done through the Beneficiary Web Enrollment (BWE) portal on the milConnect website. For most family members, coverage becomes effective on the date the regional contractor receives their completed enrollment application. Newborns are covered under TRICARE Prime for a limited period, typically 90 days stateside, provided another family member is already enrolled. They must be formally registered in DEERS and subsequently enrolled in a plan to maintain continuous coverage.
Reserve Component Members: Coverage Based on Duty Status
Health coverage for Reserve Component members, including the National Guard and Reserves, depends on their duty status. When a reservist is called to active duty for more than 30 consecutive days, they and their family members typically become eligible for the same TRICARE benefits as active duty service members. Their eligibility status is updated in DEERS by their service personnel.
For those not on active duty, options like TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) are available for purchase. TRS is a premium-based health plan for Selected Reserve members and their families. Coverage under TRS starts on the first day of the next month after the enrollment form is received or postmarked by the end of the current month. Enrollment for TRS can be completed online through milConnect.
Upon deactivation from active duty, members and their families may qualify for transitional coverage, such as the Transitional Assistance Management Program (TAMP), which provides benefits for 180 days. After TAMP ends, or if not eligible for TAMP, reservists may purchase TRS or the Continued Health Care Benefit Program (CHCBP).
Transitioning Service Members and Retirees: Continuing Coverage
Service members separating from active duty and military retirees have specific provisions for continuing health coverage. For those separating, the Continued Health Care Benefit Program (CHCBP) offers a temporary, premium-based health coverage option for a limited time after separation. This program allows for a bridge in health coverage while individuals transition to civilian plans.
Military retirees and their eligible family members become eligible for TRICARE upon retirement. They must actively re-enroll in a TRICARE retiree health plan, such as TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Select, within 90 days following their retirement date to avoid a gap in coverage. Retirees pay annual enrollment fees and co-payments for these plans. If re-enrollment occurs within 12 months after retirement, retroactive coverage may be possible, but any applicable enrollment fees must be paid back to the retirement date.
For retirees aged 65 and older, or those with certain disabilities, TRICARE for Life (TFL) becomes available. TFL acts as a secondary payer to Medicare, meaning Medicare pays first and TFL pays second. TFL coverage begins on the first day Medicare Parts A and B are effective, provided the individual is also TRICARE-eligible. Enrollment in and payment of premiums for Medicare Part B are necessary. To prevent gaps in coverage, it is advisable to enroll in Medicare at least two months before turning 65.