Becoming Medicare-Eligible

Tricare and Medicare - Linked at the Hip. I work for Medicare and have many cases where retired or disabled Soldiers run into problems with health insurance. While everyone's circumstances are different, I would advise you to read the information at the link. In most instances, if you are Medicare eligible, you must enroll in Medicare to keep your Tricare. If you do not enroll in Medicare, you may lose your Tricare. This is true in the majority of cases, but not all, so please read the information.

As a Medicare caseworker, I have had way too many cases where an individual refuses Medicare Part B because he has Tricare and, as a result of that refusal, he loses his Tricare. To compound the issue, that individual then has to wait until the next General Enrollment Period (January - March each year) and the coverage will not be effective until July that same year. In addition, if you don’t sign up for Part B when you’re first eligible, you may have to pay a late enrollment penalty for as long as you have Part B. Your monthly premium for Part B may go up 10% for each full 12-month period that you could’ve had Part B, but didn’t sign up for it. If you’re allowed to sign up for Part B during a Special Enrollment Period, you usually don’t pay a late enrollment penalty.