TRICARE Reserve Select Costs $286.66 for a Family in 2026

• TRICARE Reserve Select costs $57.88 per month for member-only coverage and $286.66 for family coverage in 2026.
• DD Form 2896-1 is the mail or fax enrollment form, and the initial payment is normally two months of premiums.
• You may enroll year-round, but you have 90 days after losing other TRICARE coverage to preserve a gap-free transition.
• Active-duty orders lasting more than 30 days automatically end TRS and move you into active-duty TRICARE eligibility.
• The 2026 catastrophic cap is $1,324 per family, and premiums do not count toward it.

Your family premium is $286.66 a month in 2026

TRICARE Reserve Select costs $57.88 per month for member-only coverage or $286.66 per month for member-and-family coverage in 2026. You can enroll throughout the year. You do not have to wait for TRICARE Open Season.

A drilling reservist can keep an employer family plan without comparing its payroll deduction, deductible, and maximum out-of-pocket exposure against TRS. That can be an expensive oversight.

Compare both plans before declining either one. TRS can cost less, but it does not automatically win. Your doctors may not accept it. Your employer may subsidize family coverage enough to beat the $286.66 TRS premium. Your prescriptions may also work better under the civilian plan.

First, confirm that you are actually in the Selected Reserve. Drilling, holding a military ID, or remaining affiliated through the Individual Ready Reserve does not make you eligible.

Selected Reserve status controls your eligibility

You may purchase TRS if you are a qualified member of the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve. Eligible components include:

• Army National Guard and Army Reserve
• Navy Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve
• Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve
• Coast Guard Reserve
• Space Force Guardians who meet the program requirements

TRS is available worldwide. The sponsor must purchase the plan before eligible family members can receive coverage. The TRICARE Reserve Select eligibility rules control whether DEERS permits enrollment.

You are generally excluded if you are:

• In the Individual Ready Reserve, including a Navy Reserve Voluntary Training Unit
• On active-duty orders lasting more than 30 days
• Covered by the Transitional Assistance Management Program, or TAMP
• Eligible for Federal Employees Health Benefits based on your own federal employment
• No longer in the Selected Reserve

The FEHB restriction applies when your eligibility comes from your own federal civilian position. It is scheduled to end on January 1, 2030. If you become FEHB-eligible before then, end TRS within 60 days. Otherwise, the Reserve Component can terminate your coverage, and you may owe money for care received after your eligibility ended.

Your spouse’s status can change the result. If you cannot qualify as the sponsor but your spouse is a qualifying Selected Reserve member, your spouse may be able to purchase TRS and enroll the family.

Check your status in DEERS. Do not rely on what your unit calls you informally. If you are considering a component change, review Air Reserve Component career information or Coast Guard career paths before assuming your health eligibility will remain unchanged.

The 2026 premium is only one part of your cost

The annual TRS premium is $694.56 for member-only coverage and $3,439.92 for family coverage. New enrollees normally pay two months up front, producing an initial payment of $115.76 or $573.32.

Premiums do not count toward the catastrophic cap. Combining annual premiums with that cap produces a potential covered-cost ceiling of $2,018.56 for member-only enrollment or $4,763.92 for family enrollment.

Those figures do not mean every medical dollar stops there. Excluded services, point-of-service charges, and certain charges from nonparticipating providers may sit outside the cap.

Selected 2026 network charges include:

• $0 for preventive care
• $19 for primary care
• $33 for specialty care
• $26 for urgent care
• $52 for an emergency visit
• $79 for an inpatient admission or hospital delivery

Confirm the current premium, deductible, copayments, and cap on the official TRICARE cost table. Rates change annually. The figures in this article apply from January 1 through December 31, 2026.

Compare TRS with the amount leaving your paycheck

Do not compare the $286.66 TRS family premium with your employer plan’s total premium. Your employer may pay part of that total. Compare TRS with your actual payroll deductions, then account for deductibles, cost-sharing, providers, and prescriptions.

Use this worksheet:

TRS deserves a close comparison when your employer family deduction alone exceeds $286.66 per month. Its low deductible and $1,324 catastrophic cap can increase the difference during a year with covered medical care.

An employer plan may still be the better choice when:

• Your employer subsidy lowers your family premium below the TRS cost.
• Your physicians or hospital are not TRICARE-authorized.
• The civilian plan covers a needed service or medication more favorably.
• Declining coverage would cost you an employer contribution.
• Your family uses providers outside the TRICARE network.

TRS generally does not require routine primary or specialty referrals, although services can require preauthorization. Non-network care can cost more and may require you to file claims yourself.

Health coverage is part of your civilian compensation. Include it when comparing job pay and benefits. If you work in medical administration or are considering that career field, review the Air Force Health Services Management specialty.

Dual coverage can erase the TRS savings

You may keep both TRS and employer insurance, but the employer or private plan becomes other health insurance. It generally pays first, and TRICARE pays last.

You must report the other coverage to your TRICARE contractor and medical providers. Follow the employer plan’s network, referral, and authorization rules even if TRS would normally handle the care differently.

File the claim with the employer plan first. A TRICARE claim submitted before the primary insurer processes it may be denied.

Failure to follow the primary plan’s rules can leave you exposed. If that insurer denies a claim because you skipped its authorization requirement, TRICARE may decline payment as well.

Paying both premiums makes sense only when the expected secondary payments or broader provider access justify the added annual cost. Otherwise, dual coverage removes the financial advantage that made TRS attractive.

You can enroll without waiting for open season

TRS uses continuous enrollment. You do not need an annual open season or qualifying life event to purchase coverage while eligible.

You can enroll through:

1. milConnect under Benefits, then Beneficiary Web Enrollment.
2. Your regional TRICARE contractor by phone.
3. Mail or fax using DD Form 2896-1, Reserve Component Health Coverage Request Form.

The sponsor completes the family enrollment. Your application must include the required initial premium, normally two months of coverage. Ongoing payments must use an automatic electronic funds transfer or recurring credit or debit card charge.

For mailed or faxed enrollment, the contractor must receive the form—or it must be postmarked—by the last day of the month to obtain the requested available start date. A midmonth start can require a prorated premium. The TRS coverage-start rules explain the available dates and post-coverage transition deadlines.

The contractor processes recurring payment on the first business day of the month for that month’s coverage. An unavailable or insufficient payment can trigger a fee of up to $20.

Do not simply stop payment when you want coverage to end. Unpaid premiums remain due, and termination for nonpayment can leave you with bills for care. Voluntary disenrollment can also create a 12-month lockout before you may purchase TRS again. The FEHB eligibility transition is treated differently and does not carry that lockout.

Qualifying events still have 90-day deadlines

You can purchase TRS prospectively at any time, but qualifying events matter when you need retroactive or gap-free coverage.

After deactivation without TAMP, expiration of TAMP, or another qualifying transition from active service, submit or postmark the TRS request within 90 days after losing the previous TRICARE coverage. Timely enrollment may allow TRS to begin the day after the prior coverage ends. Missing the deadline does not necessarily prevent later enrollment, but it can create an uninsured gap.

For marriage, divorce, or another qualifying life event, update DEERS and submit the applicable enrollment change within the 90-day window. A qualifying event affecting one person may permit eligible changes for the entire family.

A newborn or adopted child must be added within:

• 90 days of birth or adoption in the United States
• 120 days of birth or adoption overseas

The child does not receive TRS coverage until enrolled. Updating DEERS alone does not complete the health plan enrollment.

If your payment fails and coverage ends, you generally have 90 days from the last paid-through date to request reinstatement. You must restore automated payment and pay past and current premiums.

Active orders longer than 30 days end TRS automatically

Active-duty orders for more than 30 days move you out of TRS and into active-duty TRICARE eligibility. The change should happen through DEERS after your service personnel office updates your status.

The sequence normally works like this:

1. Your personnel office reports the orders in DEERS.
2. Your active-duty TRICARE eligibility begins, normally on the first day of the orders.
3. Your family becomes eligible under active-duty family member rules.
4. Existing TRS coverage ends automatically.
5. The contractor refunds unused TRS premiums covering dates after activation.
6. Your family has 90 days after activation to make an eligible TRICARE plan change.

You generally enroll in the applicable TRICARE Prime option at your final duty station. Family members may have Prime or Select choices based on location and eligibility. You do not keep TRS as the active plan during the qualifying activation.

Delayed-effective-date orders for a preplanned mission, contingency operation, or qualifying national-emergency authority can provide active-duty health eligibility up to 180 days before the reporting date.

After deactivation, the next step depends on TAMP:

• If your orders do not qualify for TAMP, you may repurchase TRS if you return to eligible Selected Reserve status.
• If you qualify for TAMP, you generally receive 180 days of transitional coverage.
• You cannot purchase TRS while covered by TAMP.
• If still eligible, TRS can begin on day 181 after TAMP ends.
• Submit the request within 90 days after losing the prior coverage to avoid a gap.

Review the official Reserve Component coverage scenarios as soon as you receive orders. Do not wait until the first medical claim reveals that DEERS still shows the wrong status.

Complete these seven checks before enrolling

1. Confirm that DEERS lists you in the Selected Reserve rather than the IRR.
2. Verify that you are not blocked by your own FEHB eligibility or current TAMP coverage.
3. Pull your employer plan’s annual payroll deductions, deductible, out-of-pocket maximum, provider directory, and prescription formulary.
4. Confirm that your family’s physicians and hospitals are TRICARE-authorized.
5. Decide whether you need member-only or member-and-family coverage.
6. Prepare $115.76 for the member-only initial payment or $573.32 for family enrollment.
7. Enroll through milConnect or submit DD Form 2896-1, then verify the effective date before canceling another policy.

Questions people actually ask

How much is TRICARE Reserve Select per month in 2026?

The 2026 monthly premium is $57.88 for member-only coverage and $286.66 for member-and-family coverage. That equals $694.56 or $3,439.92 per year. New enrollment normally requires two months of premiums up front: $115.76 for member-only coverage or $573.32 for family coverage.

Can I enroll in TRICARE Reserve Select at any time?

Yes. TRS has continuous enrollment, so you do not have to wait for TRICARE Open Season or a qualifying life event. You may enroll through milConnect, your regional contractor, or DD Form 2896-1. Special 90-day deadlines still apply when you want coverage to begin immediately after other TRICARE coverage ends.

Can an IRR member buy TRICARE Reserve Select?

No. TRS requires qualified membership in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve. Individual Ready Reserve members, including members of Navy Reserve Voluntary Training Units, are excluded. Confirm your current category in DEERS because occasional military activity or continued affiliation does not substitute for Selected Reserve status.

Is TRICARE Reserve Select cheaper than employer insurance?

It can be, especially when your employer family payroll deduction exceeds the $286.66 monthly TRS premium. Compare annual employee deductions, deductibles, out-of-pocket limits, prescriptions, and provider networks. An employer plan may still win if it is heavily subsidized, includes valuable employer contributions, or covers your physicians and medications more favorably.

What happens to TRS when I receive active-duty orders?

Orders lasting more than 30 days generally end TRS automatically when DEERS updates your active-duty eligibility. Your active-duty coverage normally begins on the first day of orders, and unused TRS premiums are refunded. After deactivation, you may repurchase TRS or use 180 days of TAMP first, depending on the orders.

Does the TRS catastrophic cap include monthly premiums?

No. The 2026 catastrophic cap is $1,324 per family, but your monthly premiums do not count toward it. Annual premiums plus the cap equal $2,018.56 for member-only enrollment or $4,763.92 for family enrollment. Excluded services and certain non-network or point-of-service charges may remain outside that ceiling.