FALLS CHURCH, Va. – IMPORTANT: Do you currently live in the TRICARE West Region? Do you pay for your TRICARE coverage using a bank electronic funds transfer, credit card, or debit card?

If you haven’t done so already, you must securely provide your payment information to the West Region contractor, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, by April 30. If you haven’t submitted payment to TriWest by April 30, you and your family members will be disenrolled from your TRICARE plan on May 1. This disenrollment is retroactive to your paid-through date. You’ll receive a letter from DMDC informing you of the disenrollment. Note: You don’t need to take any action if you have TRICARE For Life, the US Family Health Plan, or a TRICARE health plan overseas.

If you haven’t made any payments for coverage this year, your disenrollment will date back to Jan. 1. This means you’ll be responsible for paying the full cost of any healthcare services you or your family members have received this calendar year.

“We want to ensure that everyone who wants to keep their TRICARE plan has a chance to reinstate their coverage,” explained Malcolm Jones, enrollment specialist, TRICARE Health Plan, at the Defense Health Agency. “But if you’re disenrolled, you must take action now to reinstate your coverage—it won’t be automatic.”

Keep reading to learn more about your reinstatement options.

How to request reinstatement

Do you want to reinstate your TRICARE coverage? You should do so right away. Call TriWest at 888-TRIWEST (874-9378) and say that you’ve been disenrolled and would like to reinstate your enrollment. (Note: You can’t request reinstatement via TriWest’s portal.)

If you don’t request reinstatement, you won’t have TRICARE medical coverage.

To be reinstated, you’ll need to provide your payment information to TriWest and pay all overdue enrollment fees or premiums back to Jan. 1.

Don’t want to reinstate your coverage?

If you don’t want to reinstate your TRICARE coverage, you don’t need to take any action. But remember: If you don’t request reinstatement, you can only get care at a military hospital or clinic if space is available.

If you’re eligible for TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Select, you’ll need to wait until the next TRICARE Open Season, which begins in November, to enroll in a plan for coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2026. Or you’ll need to wait until you have a qualifying life event, which opens a 90-day period for you to enroll in a TRICARE health plan. (QLEs include major life changes like marriage, birth, or moving, as described in the TRICARE Qualifying Life Events Fact Sheet.)

If you had a TRICARE premium-based plan, you won’t be able to purchase coverage for 12 months from your disenrollment date. These plans include:

Want to avoid the need to update your TRICARE payment method in the future? Consider switching to paying by allotment. To learn how to set up payment by allotment, check out the Defense Financing and Accounting Service’s Allotments page.

If you have questions about your payment options, visit West Region Payment Options. Remember: Reinstating your TRICARE coverage now will ensure that you don’t need to pay the full cost of your healthcare services this year.

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