Reactivated? Don’t Let Your Family Lose TRICARE Prime Coverage

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – The families of National Guardsmen and Reservists enrolled in TRICARE Prime under the Transitional Assistance Management Program (TAMP) are automatically switched to TRICARE Standard when their sponsors are recalled to active duty.  But new rules allow them to keep their Prime coverage when they re-enroll up to 30 days after the sponsor’s activation.

TAMP offers TRICARE Prime coverage for 180 days to some service members leaving active duty and their eligible family members.  But if National Guard or Reserve members are recalled to active duty during the period of TAMP coverage, then they and their families lose their TAMP coverage and family members are disenrolled from TRICARE Prime. 

The new policy authorizes a 30-day retroactive TRICARE Prime enrollment period for transitioning family members.  As long as the family gets reenrolled in TRICARE Prime within 30 days of the member’s reactivation, Prime coverage remains unchanged, with coverage back to the date the sponsor was recalled to active duty.  For details on this policy, please visit www.tricare.mil/Factsheets/viewfactsheet.cfm?id=317. 

"That situation could cause a break in coverage, which seemed unfair to our National Guard and Reserve family members," said Army Maj. Gen. Elder Granger, deputy director of TRICARE Management Activity.  "So we’ve changed the policy to allow for a seamless transition from TRICARE Prime coverage under TAMP to the same coverage as an active duty family member."