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News | June 17, 2021

Retiring from Active Duty? You Need This TRICARE Brochure

By TRICARE Communications

When you retire from active duty, you experience a major life change. Some parts of your TRICARE coverage will also change. Understanding your new options will help you and your family make the best health care decisions. Wouldn’t it be helpful if you had a resource you could download? Check out the TRICARE Retiring from Active Duty Brochure.
 
Here are just a few things this brochure will help you learn.
 
1. Actions You Need to Take
When you retire, you want to make a smooth transition. Do you know what steps to take to avoid a break in your TRICARE coverage? The brochure highlights some important actions you need to take, including:  
2. Ways to Get Care
As a retiree, you may get care differently from when you were an active duty service member. You may or may not be seen at a military hospital or clinic. If you choose a TRICARE Prime plan, your primary care manager will provide your routine care and refer you to a provider for specialty care. If you enroll in TRICARE Select, you’ll visit the TRICARE-authorized provider of your choice for routine and specialty care.
 
The brochure also goes into details about other plans that you and your family members may be eligible for after retiring. And it discusses costs. As a retiree, you’ll now pay retiree costs for care. To see what your retiree costs with your health plan will be, you can use the TRICARE Compare Cost Tool.
 
3. Options for Pharmacy, Dental, and Vision Care
As stated in the TRICARE Retiring from Active Duty Brochure, “If you have a TRICARE health care plan, you have pharmacy coverage.” Your options for filling prescriptions depend on the type of drug your provider prescribes and where you live. Keep in mind, most retirees and their families have to fill select maintenance medications using the TRICARE Pharmacy Home Delivery.
 
What about your dental and vision coverage options? The brochure introduces you to the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP), offered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. You and your family members may qualify to purchase dental and vision coverage through FEDVIP.
 
If you’re planning to retire from active duty, download the TRICARE Retiring from Active Duty Brochure for information you need to know. After checking it out, share your thoughts by taking the Publications Feedback Survey.
 
“TRICARE wants to hear from you,” said Diana Logreira, chief of Digital Communications at the Defense Health Agency. “Share your comments, suggestions, and questions about this brochure with us so we can continue to improve TRICARE brochures and other publications for our beneficiaries.”
 
While you’re on the TRICARE website, you can find more resources that will help you learn more about your benefits.
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