Due to tax law changes, beginning Jan. 1, 2019, you'll no longer be required to have minimum essential coverage. Each January you'll still get an IRS Form 1095 from your pay center listing the coverage you had during the previous tax year.
TRICARE is a benefit established by law as the health care program for uniformed service members, retired service members, and their families. The Affordable Care Act, signed into law in 2010, was created to expand access to affordable health care coverage, lower costs, and improve quality and care coordination for all Americans.
Almost all TRICARE plan options meet Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements for minimum essential coverage (MEC). However, people who are losing TRICARE eligibility, or transitioning to a new type of TRICARE coverage, need to know their options so they avoid any penalties for not having minimum essential health coverage under the ACA.
The ACA’s minimum essential coverage requirement means most Americans need to have basic health care coverage, or they will have to pay a penalty fee. If you are eligible for premium-free TRICARE Standard, you meet the ACA’s minimum essential coverage requirement. This includes active duty service members and their families, military retirees and their families, and others. People who qualify for TRICARE For Life and purchase Medicare Part B also meet MEC requirements.
Those who are only eligible for premium based coverage, like TRICARE Young Adult (TYA), TRICARE Retired Reserve (TRR) and TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS), must purchase one of these options (or have other qualifying health coverage) in order to meet the MEC requirement. Simply being eligible for premium-based coverage or space-available care in a military hospital or clinic does not meet the MEC requirement.
TRICARE Plans that ARE considered Minimum Essential Coverage
- TRICARE Prime
- TRICARE Prime Remote
- TRICARE Prime Overseas
- TRICARE Prime Remote Overseas
- TRICARE Standard and Extra
- TRICARE Standard Overseas
- TRICARE for Life
- TRICARE Reserve Select
- TRICARE Retired Reserve
- TRICARE Young Adult
- US Family Health Plan
- Transitional Assistance Management Program
- Continued Health Care Benefit Program
Click here for further details about Tricare and the Affordable Care Act.