Going to College
Children of Active duty or retired Service members are eligible to keep TRICARE coverage while attending college. TRICARE benefits
for dependents usually end at age 21, but are available as long as the following is true: the student is enrolled full-time at an
accredited institution; is not yet 23; the sponsor provides more than 50 percent of the student’s financial support.
College-Bound Checklist:
- Update all information (address, etc.) for the college-bound student in
DEERS to ensure that care can be accessed when needed. At the age of 18, a student may update his or her own address, phone number
and email in DEERS.
- Decide the type of coverage for the student.
- Ensurethe student keeps their uniformed services ID card
in a safe place—it is needed to receive medical or dental care and to use pharmacy benefits.
- To extend benefits beyond their 21st birthday, students must contact the nearest uniformed services identification card-issuing facility before their birthday. If a student does
not extend their eligibility, TRICARE claims may be delayed or denied.
TRICARE College Brochure
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PDF Version
Choosing Coverage
Compare TRICARE Plans
TRICARE Prime Coverage
Students living in a Prime Service Area may enroll in TRICARE Prime. For active duty family members, there is no enrollment fee or
any copayments when obtaining authorized care at a military treatment facility (MTF)
or through a TRICARE network provider.
Any student enrolled in TRICARE Prime will have an assigned primary care manager.
Retiree family members pay an enrollment fee (see below), pay no copayments for authorized care at an MTF and small copayments for
authorized care through the TRICARE network.
Retired sponsors can pay one Prime enrollment fee with a "split enrollment" if the college student moves out of the family’s
TRICARE Region and moves to an area where TRICARE
Prime is available. The family should alert their regional contractor, update the student’s personal information in DEERS and fill out the paperwork to enroll
the student with his or her new regional contractor.
For students with Prime coverage, any travel
out of the TRICARE Region where the college is located should be coordinated with that regional contractor.
TRICARE Prime Handbook
TRICARE Prime Remote Coverage
College students are not eligible for coverage under TRICARE Prime Remote for Active Duty Family Members. If the student is located
in an area where TRICARE Prime is not available, TRICARE Standard and Extra are the only coverage options.
TRICARE Standard/Extra
TRICARE Standard is a good choice for students living outside of a Prime Service Area if they have limited access to providers in the TRICARE network.
For students seeking care from providers in the TRICARE network, TRICARE Extra offers cost savings over Standard coverage.
The student does not have to choose which plan to use. The coverage (as well as the deductible and cost-share) will depend on the
choice of provider—either network or non-network.
TRICARE Standard Handbook
University-sponsored health plan
A student health plan is considered other health insurance (OHI) and TRICARE would be the secondary payer to that plan. Compare TRICARE coverage to the student health plans and choose the
one that offers the best coverage for the student’s situation.
Dental Benefits
College students may enroll in either the TRICARE Dental Program (TDP) or the TRICARE Retiree Dental Program (TRDP), depending on their sponsor’s status (active duty or retired).
TRICARE Pharmacy Options
No matter which TRICARE health care plan a college student uses, the TRICARE pharmacy benefit is the same for all eligible beneficiaries.
IMPORTANT TRICARE FACTS
- Benefits end on the student’s 23rd birthday, graduation or when no longer enrolled full-time, whichever occurs
first
- Contact the nearest uniformed services identification card-issuing facility
to extend benefits beyond the student’s 21st birthday
- Make a list of the important phone numbers – the child’s primary care manager (if needed), TRICARE regional contractor and
other important numbers for benefit information or questions
- Eligible beneficiaries have access to dental coverage and pharmacy benefits as well as TRICARE health care coverage
