Key Takeaways
- Group A retiree family pays $792.96 for TRICARE Prime in 2027, up from $765.
- TRICARE Select for a Group A retiree family rises to $388.92 a year.
- Pharmacy copays don't change in 2027, and active duty families still pay no fees.
- TRICARE Open Season runs November 9 through December 8, 2026.
You are probably aware that TRICARE costs will go up on January 1, 2027, and most fees rise about 3.6% to 3.7%. A retiree family in Group A will pay $792.96 a year for TRICARE Prime, up from $765, or $388.92 for TRICARE Select. The Defense Health Agency published the full tables on November 5.
If you want to switch plans for next year, open season runs November 9 through December 8, 2026. Below are the 2027 numbers by group, with 2026 alongside so you can see what changed.
First, Are You Group A or Group B?
Your group depends on when the sponsor first joined the military, not when they retired:
- Group A: initial enlistment or appointment before January 1, 2018.
- Group B: initial enlistment or appointment on or after January 1, 2018.
Group B pays more for Select and has higher caps. Because most retirees joined before 2018, Group B retirees today are mostly medical retirees and survivors.
2027 Enrollment Fees for Retirees and Their Families
These are annual fees. You can pay them monthly, quarterly or once a year.
| Plan | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Prime Group A, individual | $381.96 | $396.00 |
| Prime Group A, family | $765.00 | $792.96 |
| Prime Group B, individual | $462.96 | $480.00 |
| Prime Group B, family | $927.00 | $960.00 |
| Select Group A, individual | $186.96 | $193.92 |
| Select Group A, family | $375.00 | $388.92 |
| Select Group B, individual | $594.96 | $616.92 |
| Select Group B, family | $1,191.00 | $1,233.96 |
Source: TRICARE’s 2027 health plan costs and 2026 costs announcements.
If you’re under 65 and already have Medicare Part A and Part B, for example through Social Security disability, the Prime enrollment fee is waived.
Deductibles and Catastrophic Caps
Prime has no deductible. Select does, and Group B’s went up for 2027.
| Retiree cost | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Select Group A deductible (ind./family) | $150 / $300 | $150 / $300 |
| Select Group B network deductible | $198 / $397 | $205 / $411 |
| Prime Group A catastrophic cap | $3,000 | $3,000 |
| Prime or Select Group B cap | $4,635 | $4,802 |
| Select Group A cap | $4,381 | $4,538 |
Out of network, Group B’s Select deductible is higher: $411 for one person or $823 for a family in 2027.
The catastrophic cap is the most your family pays in a year for covered care, including enrollment fees. For Select Group A survivors of active duty members and medically retired members, the 2027 cap stays at $3,000.
What a Doctor Visit Costs a Retiree in 2027
Copays went up a dollar or a few dollars. These are network costs for retirees and their families.
| Visit | Prime (A or B) | Select Group A | Select Group B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary care | $27 | $40 | $34 |
| Specialist | $41 | $52 | $54 |
| Urgent care | $41 | $40 | $54 |
| Emergency room | $82 | $143 | $109 |
Preventive visits stay free on every plan. Out of network, Select usually costs 25% of TRICARE’s allowed charge after the deductible.
Get military pay and benefit changes by email
I post the new pay raise, the retiree cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), TRICARE fees and Veterans Affairs (VA) disability rates as each one is announced.
Free. You’ll get my new posts, including these updates. Unsubscribe anytime, and check your spam folder for the confirmation email.
Prime or Select? Two Retiree Families Run the Numbers
Mike is a retired Army E-7 in Group A, with a wife and two kids. In a typical year his family has about 10 primary care visits, 4 specialist visits and one emergency room visit.
- On Prime: $792.96 in fees, plus $270 + $164 + $82 in copays, comes to about $1,309.
- On Select: $388.92 in fees, plus $400 + $208 + $143 in network copays, comes to about $1,140, before any deductible.
Select comes out a little cheaper for Mike if his doctors are in network, and it lets him see specialists without a referral. Prime wins if his family has a bad year: its cap is $3,000 instead of $4,538.
Dana is a Group B medical retiree who lives alone and rarely sees a doctor. Prime costs her $480 a year. Select costs $616.92 plus a $205 deductible, so Prime is the better deal unless she needs care outside the Prime network. Dana pays a fee because she’s in Group B. Group A medical retirees, and Group A survivors of service members who died on active duty, pay no Select enrollment fee.
I can’t tell you which one is right for your family. But I’d run your own last year of visits through both columns before December 8.
Working a Second Career? TRICARE as a Backup vs. a Health Savings Account
A lot of retirees under 65 take a civilian job that comes with its own health plan. The question I see most in military forums this time of year is whether TRICARE is still worth paying for.
If you keep it, your employer plan pays first and TRICARE pays second. TRICARE can then cover some or all of what’s left, like your deductible and copays, up to what it would have paid on its own. For a Group A family on Select, that backup costs $388.92 for 2027, or about $32 a month.
The catch is the health savings account (HSA). If you’re enrolled in Prime or Select, you can’t put money in an HSA, even when TRICARE is only your backup. If your job offers a high-deductible plan with an HSA, you have to choose.
Carlos is a retired Navy E-7 in Group A who now works in logistics, with family coverage on his employer’s high-deductible plan. If he drops TRICARE Select, he can put up to $9,000 in an HSA for 2027 (see my HSA limits guide). In the 22% tax bracket, that cuts his federal income tax by about $1,980, far more than the $388.92 Select would cost him.
If his family has big medical bills most years, keeping TRICARE as a backup can still win. And dropping it isn’t permanent. He can come back at the next open season, or within 90 days of losing his job coverage, because gaining or losing other health insurance counts as a qualifying life event.
If you keep both, tell TRICARE and your doctors about the employer plan. If TRICARE pays a claim first by mistake, it takes the money back.
Active Duty Families Still Pay No Fees
Active duty service members pay nothing. Their families pay no enrollment fees for Prime or Select, and Prime has no copays when you follow its rules.
On Select, active duty families pay a deductible that depends on rank and group:
| Sponsor rank | Group A (ind./family) | Group B (ind./family) |
|---|---|---|
| E-4 and below | $50 / $100 | $68 / $137 |
| E-5 and above | $150 / $300 | $205 / $411 |
Active duty family catastrophic caps are $1,000 for Group A and $1,372 for Group B in 2027.
In network, Select copays for active duty families are $30 for primary care and $39 for a specialist in Group A, or $20 and $34 in Group B. Out of network, they pay 20% of TRICARE’s allowed charge after the deductible.
Reserve Select, Retired Reserve and Young Adult Premiums
The premium-based plans had some of the bigger increases. These are monthly premiums:
| Plan | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Reserve Select, member only | $57.88 | $60.54 |
| Reserve Select, member and family | $286.66 | $307.48 |
| Retired Reserve, member only | $645.90 | $707.59 |
| Retired Reserve, member and family | $1,548.30 | $1,697.70 |
| Young Adult Prime | $794.00 | $893.00 |
| Young Adult Select | $363.00 | $394.00 |
The 2027 catastrophic caps are $1,372 a year for Reserve Select and Young Adult, and $4,802 for Retired Reserve.
Priya’s daughter turned 23 and finished college, so she aged out of regular TRICARE. TRICARE Young Adult Select will cost $394 a month in 2027, or $4,728 a year. That’s worth comparing against a plan from her first employer or the Affordable Care Act marketplace at HealthCare.gov.
What Isn’t Changing
- Pharmacy copays: no change in 2027. Retirees and families pay $16 for a generic, $48 for a brand-name drug and $85 for a non-formulary drug (up to 30 days) at a retail network pharmacy, or $14, $44 and $85 (up to 90 days) by home delivery. Military pharmacies stay free.
- TRICARE Dental Program premiums: the same through February 28, 2027.
- TRICARE For Life: no enrollment fee, but you must have Medicare Part B. TRICARE posts its 2027 TRICARE For Life costs early next year.
If you’re on TRICARE For Life, the Part B premium is your real cost. My Medicare premiums post has the 2026 Part B premium and the income-related surcharges (IRMAA). I’ll add the 2027 figures as soon as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announces them, usually in mid-November.
Open Season Mistakes That Cost Military Families
Missing December 8. After open season ends, you can only change plans after a qualifying life event, such as a move, marriage, birth or retirement, and you have 90 days from the event to make the change. Otherwise you’re locked in for 2027.
Letting a fee payment lapse. If your Prime or Select fees stop, you can be disenrolled. Paying by allotment from retired pay is the easiest way to avoid that. My military pay dates post shows when retired pay lands each month.
Mixing up TRICARE and the federal open season. Dental and vision enrollment through the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program runs on the federal civilian schedule, through December 14. My Federal Benefits Open Season guide covers those dates and plans.
Forgetting the group rule for new retirees. If you’re retiring soon, your fees follow the group set when you first joined, not your retirement date.
Picking Prime when you live too far out. Retirees can enroll in Prime only inside a Prime Service Area, or within 100 miles of an available primary care manager (the doctor who manages your care) if you agree to drive farther than the usual 30 minutes. If neither fits, Select is your plan.
TRICARE Costs for 2028: What Drives the Next Increase
Retiree enrollment fees rise each January by roughly the retired pay COLA. That COLA comes from the Social Security COLA announced each October, so the 2028 increase will follow the October 2027 announcement.
Copays and premiums are set separately, from law and from actual health care costs, so they can move faster or slower. I’ll update this page when TRICARE publishes 2028 costs, usually in early November before open season.
For the rest of your military money picture, see my 2027 military pay chart and the 2027 VA disability rates.
