TRICARE Young Adult
Eligibility for regular TRICARE plan options ends at age 21, or 23 if a full-time student. After that, the TRICARE Young Adult (TYA) Program can be purchased.
TYA is a special program for young adults that you can purchase from US Family Health Plan. It is a TRICARE® Prime option. TYA is an individual healthcare plan, and you must pay monthly premiums. It provides full health insurance that includes medical and pharmacy benefits. It does not include dental coverage. With TYA, you can continue your TRICARE health care coverage. You are eligible for TYA as long as your sponsor remains eligible for TRICARE.
Enrollment is easy:
- By phone: Call the Enrollment Department at 800-585-5883, option 1
- Online: Enroll on the TRICARE Beneficiary Web Enrollment (BWE) website. From milConnect, choose "Benefits" and then choose "Beneficiary Web Enrollment (BWE)"
- By mail: Download and print a TYA application
Check current premiums on the TRICARE website.
You are eligible to purchase TYA coverage if you are all of the following:
- A dependent of a TRICARE-eligible uniformed service sponsor
- Enrolled in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS)
- Unmarried
- At least age 21 but not yet 26
You are not eligible for TYA coverage:
- If you are enrolled in an employer-sponsored health plan based on your own employment
- If you are eligible for any other TRICARE program coverage
- If you are married
- TYA coverage will end on your 26th birthday
The Affordable Care Act, also known as the health care reform law, requires that individuals maintain health insurance or other coverage that meets the definition of “minimum essential coverage” beginning in 2014. If purchased, TYA is considered minimum essential coverage.
The TYA Program with US Family Health Plan gives you first-class, quality health services:
- Civilian providers
- Modest copayments
- All your primary care in one place
You’ll enjoy:
- Complete coverage, with no deductibles or unexpected medical bills
- Small copayments for doctor’s visits and hospital stays
- No red tape, claim forms or unexpected costs
- Getting an urgent-care appointment on the same day you need it
- Seamless referrals to board-certified specialists
- Excellent prescription benefits. Low cost generic drugs by mail order
- Worldwide emergency and urgent care
- No qualifying health questions to answer to enroll
- Discounts on fitness club memberships and weight loss programs
- Discounts on eyeglasses, vitamins and supplements, naturopathic care, massage therapy and much more
The following answers to common questions provide more information about US Family Health Plan through the TRICARE Young Adult Program. If you have questions about the program or enrollment, please contact Enrollment Department at 800-585-5883, option 1.
We look forward to hearing from you and being your health care partner for years to come.
First verify that you are still in the DEERS database. If you are, then you may complete an application for the TRICARE Young Adult Program at US Family Health Plan.
Mail your completed form to:
US Family Health Plan
PO Box 84985
Seattle, WA 98124
Please visit TRICARE and learn about premiums and copays for TYA Prime or TYA Select.
You can join US Family Health Plan at any time. When you lose your TRICARE Prime coverage you have 30 days to apply to USFHP to avoid a break in coverage. Contact our Enrollment Team for details at 800-585-5883, option 1.
Your initial payment may be made by check, money order or debit/credit card. After the initial payment, automated monthly debit payments are required from a savings/checking account or debit/credit card.
No. The application must be signed by you, the young adult dependent. As part of the application process, you must attest that you do not have employer-sponsored health care, that you are not married and that you otherwise are qualified to purchase coverage.
Yes. Shortly after you enroll, you will receive a USFHP member identification card that will have your unique member number. This card is your proof of US Family Health Plan coverage.
The US Family Health Plan offers multiple provider networks with a great selection of primary care physicians (PCPs). As a USFHP member, you can choose your own PCP from the provider network. Your PCP will arrange and coordinate all of your care and ensure your providers work together as a team to keep you healthy.
USFHP members can receive care at military treatment facilities only for life-threatening emergencies.
Your US Family Health Plan coverage provides you with two options. You can order your prescriptions by mail or get them from a retail pharmacy:
- The mail-order benefit is administered by MaxorPlus and provides you with a 90-day supply. Generic prescriptions filled by mail order are free.
- The retail benefit provides you with a 30-day supply. Prescriptions can be filled at a US Family Health Plan network pharmacy.
Your eligibility depends on the status of your sponsor. If your sponsor is eligible for TRICARE Retired Reserve or Reserve Select, he or she is not eligible for US Family Health Plan. And so you are not eligible for US Family Health Plan. The only TRICARE Young Adult coverage you are eligible for is TRICARE Select.
You can switch your coverage from the TRICARE Select Young Adult Program to US Family Health Plan at any time. All you need to do is submit the enrollment form.
Your automatic payments must also be switched to US Family Health Plan. Please note that there is a difference in premiums between TYA Prime and TYA Select.
You may enroll in US Family Health Plan if you are not eligible for health insurance from your own employer. If you remain covered under your parent’s insurance as a dependent, your USFHP coverage will be secondary coverage. That means that USFHP will help you pay any deductibles and cost shares that you are responsible for under your parent’s insurance. This is true for most employer sponsored health plans.
Your eligibility for coverage ends when one of the following events takes place:
- You have your 26th birthday
- You get married
- You become eligible for insurance through your employment
- You become eligible for another TRICARE program
- You fail to pay your monthly premium when it is due
- You voluntarily submit a request to terminate USFHP
- Your sponsor loses eligibility for TRICARE coverage
If you voluntarily terminate your coverage, you will be locked out of the program for 12 months. If you fail to pay your premium when due, you will be locked out of the program for 12 months. (Your premium payment is due no later than the last day of the current month for the next month’s coverage.) If you fail to pay the total premium amounts due and any fees due for insufficient funds, your coverage will be terminated. If you become eligible for or enroll in another TRICARE plan or employer-sponsored health insurance, the lock-out provision will not apply.