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TRICARE Survivor Benefits (Article 14)
Taking Care of Military Families
The loss of a loved one brings grief and sadness to surviving family members. It’s comforting to know that TRICARE continues to provide coverage for families whose sponsor is lost—either while on active duty or when retired.

Survivors of Active Duty Service Members
Family members of a sponsor who dies while on active duty, including Reserve Component* family members, remain eligible for TRICARE benefits as active duty family members for three years. During this three-year period, they are known as survivors.

If enrolled in TRICARE Prime, surviving family members remain eligible for TRICARE Prime. After the three-year transitional period, family members must begin paying enrollment fees to remain enrolled in TRICARE Prime, and their coverage will mirror that of retired service members and their families. They may also choose to access care under one of TRICARE’s cost-sharing options—TRICARE Extra or TRICARE Standard. Cost-shares will remain at the active duty family member amounts for three years, then increase to the higher amounts after three years.

The TRICARE Prime Remote for Active Duty Family Members (TPRADFM) option is not available to survivors. Family members will be covered by TRICARE Extra and TRICARE Standard. If families move to an area where TRICARE Prime is available, they may enroll by submitting a TRICARE Prime Enrollment Application Form to Humana Military. The TRICARE Prime enrollment application is available by calling 1-800-444-5445.

If families decide to access care under TRICARE Extra and TRICARE Standard, they may contact Humana Military for assistance and visit the online provider directory to locate a provider.

Surviving spouses remain eligible for TRICARE until they remarry and children remain eligible up to age 21 (or 23 if enrolled in college full-time).

TRICARE Dental Program Survivor Benefit
Survivors enrolled in the TRICARE Dental Program (TDP) will continue to receive TDP benefits for three years from the month following the sponsor’s death. Under this survivor program, the government will pay 100 percent of the premium for three years from the month following the sponsor’s death. The requirement to be enrolled in the TDP at the time of the sponsor’s death may be waived in certain, limited circumstances.

At the time of death, the sponsor (and the enrolled family members) will be disenrolled and the TDP contractor, United Concordia, will notify the survivors of this disenrollment and the terms of the TDP survivor benefit. The family may re-enroll under the terms of the TDP survivor benefit. Once the three-year TDP survivor benefit ends, family members may be eligible for the TRICARE Retiree Dental Program (TRDP), administered by Delta Dental.

For more information about the TDP, beneficiaries may access the benefit handbook online at www.ucci.com or call toll free 1-800-866-8499, 24 hours a day. For information about the TRDP, visit www.trdp.org.

Survivors of Retired Service Members
Survivors of retired service members remain eligible for TRICARE with no change in their coverage or costs. They may continue enrollment in TRICARE Prime and continue paying enrollment fees. If already accessing care under TRICARE Extra or TRICARE Standard, coverage and costs do not change. If residing in a TRICARE Prime service area, survivors of retired service members currently using TRICARE Standard may elect to enroll in TRICARE Prime even if they were not previously enrolled.

Surviving spouses remain eligible for TRICARE until they remarry, and children remain eligible up to age 21 (or 23 if enrolled in college, full-time).

Entitled to Medicare
If surviving family members become entitled to Medicare Part A and Part B based on age, disability or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), they become eligible for TRICARE For Life (TFL). TRICARE will pay second after Medicare for TRICARE covered services, beginning the month that Part A and Part B coverage is effective.

For information about TFL or purchasing Medicare Part B, visit www.tricare.osd.mil or www.ssa.gov.

*The Reserve Component includes the Army National Guard, the Army Reserve, the Navy Reserve, the Marine Corps Reserve, the Air National Guard, the Air Force Reserve, and the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve.

Transitional Survivor Costs

TRICARE Program Option

While Sponsor is On Active Duty

Transition Period
For 3 years after
sponsor's death

After Transition Period
Costs mirror those of retired service members and their families
TRICARE Prime

No enrollment fees
No copayments

No enrollment fees
No copayments

 Enrollment fees
– $230/individual
– $460/family
In-network copayments** (depending on service received)
– Outpatient—$12-$30
– Inpatient—$11-$40 per day
TPRADFM

No enrollment fees
No copayments

 Not available Not available
TRICARE Extra 15% cost-share after annual deductible is met 15% cost-share after annual deductible is met 20% cost-share after annual deductible is met
TRICARE Standard 20% cost-share after annual deductible is met 20% cost-share after annual deductible is met 25% cost-share after annual deductible is met
Catastrophic Cap $1,000 $1,000 $3,000
TRICARE Dental Program Single enrollment, $9.32*
Family enrollment, $23.31*		 No premiums required Not available
May be able to purchase coverage under
the TRICARE Retiree Dental Program. Visit www.trdp.org/ for information.

*TDP premium amounts are adjusted annually each February. These amounts are accurate through Jan. 31, 2006.
**Visit www.tricare.mil/tricarecost for the most up-to-date cost information.


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Last Reviewed:  December 4, 2007