May 6 2016
URGENT! Special Edition
New Tricare Fees for Active Duty and their Families
The House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) version of the National Defense Authorization Act 2017 (NDAA-H.R. 4909) provides substantial changes to the TRICARE program.
This bill authorizes a new enrollment fee ($100 for individual/$200 for families) for TRICARE Standard
starting in 2020, and a new TRICARE fee for active duty personnel who join the military on or after January 1, 2018 of either $180 for an individual and $360 for a family for TRICARE Prime, or $300 for an individual or $600 for a family for TRICARE Preferred.
When we eventually retire, we will pay $325 for an individual and $650 for a family on Prime, and $425 for an individual and $850 for a family for TRICARE Preferred. That fee will increase annually but is capped at COLA rate.
FRA opposes these new TRICARE fees and believes that the Defense Department (DoD) must sufficiently investigate and implement other options to make TRICARE more cost-efficient before shifting costs to TRICARE beneficiaries.
The bill has been approved by Committee and will soon be considered by the full House. Please use the FRA Action Center (
action.fra.org/action-center) to ask your Representative to oppose these new TRICARE fees. You are encouraged to share this with other servicemembers and ask them to go to the FRA Action Center.
About OnWatch
OnWatch is a quarterly news update for active duty and Reserve
personnel, written by Stephen Tassin. He recently transitioned from
active duty to service as a Chief Warrant Officer 2 in the Marine Corps
Reserve Force, and has a personal interest in these matters. As the
assistant director of Legislative Programs for the Fleet Reserve
Association (FRA), he’s also committed to FRA’s mission to
maintain and improve the quality of life for Navy, Marine Corps and
Coast Guard personnel and their families. He looks forward to keeping
you up to date on FRA’s legislative efforts to protect and enhance
your earned military and veterans’ benefits.