Veterans Tricare Costs Are Going Up Again in 2024!

Military service members, families, and retirees will pay more for Tricare in 2024, with modest increases generally amounting to about 3%.

Costs also went up moderately this year.

The 2024 increases for many using Tricare Prime and Tricare Select will mainly be due to their annual enrollment fees and deductibles, with smaller increases in copayments for medical services.

Tricare open enrollment season, which allows members to change their health insurance coverage for the upcoming year, runs from Nov. 13 to Dec. 12. Guard and reserve members, as well as transitioning troops and young adults enrolled in Tricare plans, will also see price increases in 2024.

Tricare Groups
Tricare costs depend on which Tricare “group" a military member belongs to. A member's Tricare group is determined by when they first entered the military. Group A consists of those who entered service before Jan. 1, 2018, while Group B is those who entered after that date.

Enrollment Fees
There are no annual enrollment fees for active-duty families in either Tricare Prime or Tricare Select, but retirees will see an increase in the upcoming year.

Group A retirees enrolled in Tricare Select will see their annual enrollment fees increase from $345 to $355.92 for a family and from $171.96 to $177.96 for an individual.

Group A retirees using Tricare Prime will see the enrollment fees for a family plan increase from $703.92 to $726, while the single plan will go from $351.96 to $363 annually.

Retirees in Tricare Group B will see similar increases. Enrollment fees for a family plan will rise from $852 to $879, while the individual plan will go from $426 to $438.96.

Deductibles
Annual deductibles will also increase in 2024. The deductible is the amount those using Tricare Select must pay out of pocket before Tricare makes any payments.

Group A active-duty family members and retirees will see no changes to the deductible amount.

A military member with the rank of E-4 or below in Group B will see their family deductible increase from $121 to $125, while families with sponsors E-5 and above in Group B will see their deductible rise from $365 to $377.

Individual military members in Group B will also see their deductibles rise in 2024, from $60 to $62 for E-4 and below and from $182 to $188 for E-5 and above.

Copayments
Most copayments also will go up in the upcoming year. Active-duty Tricare Select users with a family in Group A will see the cost of a primary care visit increase by $2, going from $25 to $27. The primary care copay for Group B family members will stay at $18.

Retirees using Tricare Select will see a primary care visit go from $34 to $36, while those using Tricare Prime will pay $25 next year, up from the current $24.

Catastrophic Cap
The catastrophic cap is Tricare beneficiaries’ maximum out-of-pocket cost for all health care provided each year. It limits beneficiaries’ liability in the case of a serious illness or injury. Once a beneficiary has paid this much in copayments or pharmacy charges during the year, Tricare will pay the rest in full.

Group A retirees using Tricare Select will see this cap increase in 2024 from $4,028 to $4,157.

While the cap for active-duty family members in Group A who have either Tricare Select or Tricare Prime will remain the same at $1,000 annually, those in Group B will see it increase from $1,217 to $1,256.

Source: Care Connect of Hampton Roads

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