What do you do for health insurance when you lose Tricare?
You can lose your Tricare eligibility for a number of reasons. If you separate voluntarily, you and your family are not eligible to use military treatment facilities or Tricare, if you are discharged for a medical condition you may be eligible for medical care from the VA, but your family will not. What can you do to make sure you and your family have health care benefits after getting out of the military?
Thankfully there are several options for you including:
Sponsors and eligible family members may be covered by the Transitional Assistance Management Program after losing Tricare eligibility. This program 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.
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. This program 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. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires most Americans have minimum essential health care coverage, or pay a tax penalty for each month that you and the other individuals listed on your tax form do not have coverage.
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Related Topics: Transition Healthcare BenefitsJim Absher is Military.com's former benefits editor and columnist. He joined the Navy to see the world and later realized the world is two-thirds water. He also worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs in field offices and Washington, D.C. before coming to Military.com in 2015. Read Full Bio
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