Recall to Active Duty Allows 30-day Retroactive Enrollment

Transitioning from Active Duty to Civilian Life

The Transitional Assistance Management Program (TAMP) makes the transition from active duty to civilian life as seamless as possible by providing eligible sponsors and family members health care coverage for up to 180 days after separation from active duty.

If you and your family members meet one of the following conditions, you may be eligible for transitional health care benefits through TAMP.

Your sponsor was:

involuntarily separated from active duty service under honorable conditions
a member of the National Guard or Reserve separated from active duty after a period of more than 30 consecutive days in support of a contingency operation
separated from active duty following involuntary retention (stop-loss) in support of a contingency operation
separated from active duty following a voluntary agreement to stay on active duty for less than one year in support of a contingency operation.

Transitioning from Civilian Life to Active Duty Status

A sponsor may be recalled to active duty while under TAMP and a new TRICARE provision makes this transition from civilian life back to active duty status even easier. TRICARE now gives beneficiaries enrolled in TRICARE Prime coverage under TAMP the opportunity to continue their TRICARE Prime enrollment with no break in coverage, if they re-enroll in TRICARE Prime within 30 days of their sponsor’s recall to active duty status. This new provision provides TAMP beneficiaries the opportunity to make an enrollment decision so they don’t experience any lapse in their health care coverage.

If beneficiaries elect not to re-enroll in TRICARE Prime within this 30-day period, they will be covered automatically under TRICARE Standard and TRICARE Extra. Keep in mind these programs have higher cost-shares and annual deductibles.

Beneficiaries can still enroll in TRICARE Prime after this 30-day period; however, the 20^th-of-the-month rule will apply. This means for applications received after the 20^th-of-the-month, your coverage will begin on the first of the following month. For example, if an application is received on February 25^th, enrollment would not start until April 1^st.

If beneficiaries are using TRICARE Standard and TRICARE Extra under TAMP, they also have the choice of enrolling in TRICARE Prime when their sponsors are called to active duty. Sponsors are covered automatically under TRICARE Prime when serving on active duty.

For more information about this and other TAMP issues, please contact TriWest at 1-888-TRIWEST (874-9378) or visit your nearest TRICARE Service Center.