TRICARE and the Federal Employees'
Health Benefits Program
The federal government has created health insurance programs for its employees and those serving in the military. These programs, TRICARE and the Federal Employees' Health Benefits Plan, are unlike other health insurance programs in many ways.
TRICARE
TRICARE is the federal government's health insurance program for active duty and retired military personnel. More information about TRICARE is available from the Department of Defense's TRICARE at a Glance brochure.
Eligibility for TRICARE depends on an individual's affiliation with the U.S. military. The following groups of individuals are eligible for the standard or prime versions of TRICARE:
- Family members and survivors of active duty personnel
- Retirees and their family members and survivors under age 65
- Reserve component family members if Reserve member is activated for more than 30 consecutive days.
TRICARE for Life is the name of the TRICARE program for the military's retirees and those affiliated with the military who are Medicare eligible. Anyone retired from the uninformed services who is entitled to Medicare Part A and enrolled in Medicare Part B is eligible as are the Medicare eligible dependents of those on active duty.
The Department of Defense maintains a website, which allows users to ask questions online or search a database of questions and answers.
Federal Employees' Health Benefits Program
The Federal Employees' Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) is composed of a number of different local, regional, and national health plans that provide health insurance to over 8 million federal employees, retirees, and dependents. Individuals enrolled in FEHBP, like those in TRICARE, have different rights than those in other employer-sponsored health insurance programs and should read all of their plan and other information about the program carefully.
More information about this program is available from the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Home website:
