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JBSA News
NEWS | Jan. 17, 2013

Reserve Select, Retired Reserve must switch to electronic premium payments to avoid suspension of coverage

By Kevin Dwyer TRICARE Management Activity

TRICARE beneficiaries covered by TRICARE Reserve Select or TRICARE Retired Reserve must switch to electronic premium payments. If they don't make the change, they risk having their coverage suspended.

There are currently 9,206 TRS and 110 TRR plans which have not been switched, according to Bill Thresher, TRICARE Regional Office-South regional director.

"There is still time for our TRS and TRR members to comply and avoid a break in TRICARE coverage," Thresher said, noting that the original deadline for people to switch was Dec. 31. "Folks actually will not be dropped from the program until Feb. 1."

TRICARE will now only accept monthly premium payments using recurring automatic payments by credit or debit card, or by recurring electronic funds transfer from a linked bank account. To avoid confusion, beneficiaries should verify that their bank sends EFT payments electronically.

Beneficiaries can contact their regional or overseas contractor to set up automatic payments and get more information. Contact information is available online at http://www.TRICARE.mil/contacts.

The Defense Manpower Data Center has sent email messages to current TRR and TRS members, and new beneficiaries are informed in their welcome package information.

Electronic payments make it easy for members to pay their premiums on time, ensuring continuous coverage for beneficiaries. When beneficiaries don't pay their premiums it results in suspension of coverage.

TRS and TRR are premium-based health plans. TRS is available for purchase by qualified members of the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve and their families; and TRR can be purchased by qualified retired Reserve members, their families and qualified survivors of deceased retired Reserve sponsors.

For more information about TRS or TRR, go to http://www.tricare.mil or call 808-2725.