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TRICARE Reserve Benefits

TRICARE is an insurance program provided to members of the military, including reservists. Benefit plans are available for members of the Army and Air National Guards as well as the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and U.S. Coastal Guard Reserves. TRICARE coverage depends on military status and is also extended to the family members of reservists on active duty.

  1. 30 Day Reserve Benefits

    • Reserve members on military duty serving 30 days or less may qualify for TRICARE benefits. Line of Duty Care provides coverage for injuries, illnesses and diseases occurring or being aggravated in the line of duty as well as any that occur when traveling to and from places of duty. TRICARE Reserve Select is available to Selected Reserve members that are in the Ready Reserve and are not enrolled in or eligible for the Federal Health Employees Benefits Plan. Reserve members must pay monthly premiums to participate in this health care plan that allows them and their family members to visit TRICARE-authorized providers for care and treatments without having to obtain a referral. The TRICARE Dental Program is sponsored by the Department of Defense for reserve members and their families that provides continuous coverage during active military status.

    Prime Reserve Benefits

    • Once a reserve member is given federal orders to report to active duty that will last more than 30 days, he may be eligible for one of the Prime options of TRICARE reserve benefits. Under the TRICARE Prime plan, enrolled reserve members on active duty and their family members pay no fees or costs when they receive care from their assigned primary care manager at a military treatment center or a TRICARE network provider. Reserve members that work and live in remote duty stations that are at least 50 miles from a military treatment center can enroll in TRICARE Remote. The plan available for reserve members and their family members living in overseas locations that are non-remote is the TRICARE Prime Overseas and for remote locations such as the Pacific and Latin America is the TRICARE Global Remote Overseas plan. This plan coordinates care through the TGRO Alarm Center that locates providers in remote areas of the world. All of the prime TRICARE plans offer reserve members and their families free health care as long as they receive treatment from their primary care managers at military treatment centers or other referred physicians within the TRICARE network.

    Reserve Benefits for Deactivated Members

    • Once reserve members are deactivated or their active duty service ends, they can no longer participate in the TRICARE reserve benefits designated for active military members. The Transitional Assistance Management program helps reserve members with the transition back to civilian life by providing benefits for 180 days. Members have to meet certain eligibility requirements to qualify for this coverage such as separating from active duty involuntarily under honorable conditions or in support of a contingency operation. Some reserve members may be eligible to keep their TRICARE Reserve Select benefits and continue paying the premiums and others may be eligible to participate in the Continued Health Care Benefit Program that extends their coverage. This premium-based continued coverage lasts up to 18 or 36 months and helps reserve members keep their health benefits while transitioning to a civilian health care plan. Former active duty members and their family members can keep their coverage up to 18 months while children that age out of eligibility status and former spouses that are unremarried are covered up to 36 months.

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