Retirees who paid annual Tricare Prime enrollment fees in 2018 or 2019 could be in line for a refund.
That’s thanks to a change in how yearly out-of-pocket maximum payments are calculated, according to a Tricare manual policy update released on Thursday.
The change, which is retroactive to 2018, allows annual enrollment payments to be applied towards maximum out-of-pocket expenses and is expected to lower costs for retirees.
"For the 2018 and 2019 enrollment fees credited to the catastrophic cap, the contractor shall notify the beneficiaries by letter of the credit, how the credit was applied, and how a refund can be requested," instructs the manual update.
Those who joined the service before Jan. 1, 2018, have a $3,000 maximum out-of-pocket cost. Those who joined after Jan. 1, 2018 have a cap of $3,600 and pay around $600 per year to enroll in Tricare Prime.
Retirees who pay their enrollment fees via a monthly allotment will have those payments automatically stopped next year when they hit their out-of-pocket maximums, according to the update.
Future retirees who joined the service after Jan. 1, 2018 also benefit as a result of the change. They pay a $1,000 enrollment fee for Tricare Select while current retirees aren’t charged an enrollment fee for that plan.
Active duty service members or Tricare for Life users are not impacted by the changes since they are not assessed enrollment fees. Tricare Reserve Select, Tricare Retired Reserve or Tricare Young Adult users who pay a monthly premium are also not impacted by the changes.
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Reach Julia LeDoux: Julia@connectingvets.com
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