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Healthcare After Active Military & TRICARE After Separation

If you are getting out of the military sometime soon, you need to understand what will happen with your healthcare, and what your options are. You won’t be able to keep TRICARE, at least in its current form, forever. Here are your healthcare options after the military.

Healthcare After the Military If You Are Separating

If you are separating from active duty military, as opposed to retiring, you will not be able to keep TRICARE long term, but you might be eligible for either the Transitional Assistance Management Program (TAMP) and/or the Continued Health Care Benefit Program (CHCBP.)

Transitional Assistance Management Program (TAMP)

If you are separating from the military and you are either:

• • Involuntarily separating from active duty under honorable conditions which include members who receive a voluntary separation incentive (VSI,) or members who receive voluntary separation pay (VSP) and aren’t entitled to retired or retainer pay upon separation, or
  • Separating from active duty following involuntary retention (stop-loss) in support of a contingency operation, or
  • Separating from active duty following a voluntary agreement to stay on active duty for less than one year in support of a contingency operation, or

If you are receiving a sole survivorship discharge, then you should be able to receive TAMP. TAMP will allow you to have 180 days of premium-free transitional health care benefits after your regular TRICARE benefits end. During this period, you are eligible to use:

• • TRICARE Prime
  • TRICARE Select
  • US Family Health Plan (enrollment required and must live in a designated location.)
  • TRICARE Prime Overseas (enrollment required)
  • TRICARE Select Overseas
  • Extended Health Care Option

RELATED: TRICARE Guide

You can view your TAMP eligibility at MilConnect.  Or for more info, please visit here.

Continued Health Care Benefit Program (CHCBP)

The CHCBP is a premium-based plan that will give you temporary health coverage for 18-36 months when you lose your eligibility for TRICARE. CHCBP will help you bridge the gap between military health benefits and your new civilian health benefits, will provide the same coverage as TRICARE select, to include prescriptions, and will give you the minimum essential coverage that you need to qualify for the Affordable Care Act. If you qualify for CHCBP, you can purchase it within 60 days of your loss of TRICARE eligibility.

For more info, please visit here.

Qualifying for CHCBP

In order to qualify for CHCBP, your separation must be under, “other than adverse conditions.” You can qualify if you were an active duty service member and released from active duty for up to 18 months. If you are a dependent or spouse and lose your TRICARE coverage, or an unmarried former spouse and lose your TRICARE coverage, you can use CHCBP for up to 36 months.

The CHCBP contractor is Humana Military. You can use CHCBP after the loss of TAMP coverage and then be covered up to 18 months.

Healthcare After the Military If You’re Retiring

If you are actually retiring from active duty military, as opposed to separating, you will have some TRICARE changes after you get out of the military. First of all, you will be disenrolled from TRICARE Prime, and you will then have 90 days to enroll in a new plan after your retirement. You will have to pay annual enrollment fees.

You can re-enroll online, over the phone, or through the mail. If you do fail to enroll in TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Select you will lose all TRICARE coverage and will only be able to receive care at military hospitals and clinics on a space available basis.

Your options for health plans are:

• TRICARE Prime (in Prime Service Areas)
• TRICARE Select
• US Family Health Plan (in specific U.S. locations)
• TRICARE For Life (with Medicare Part A & B coverage)
• TRICARE Select Overseas

Your coverage will start the date of your retirement. You and your family might also be able to qualify for dental coverage through the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) if you enroll in a TRICARE health plan.

For more info, visit here.

SHPE

SHPE stands for “Separation History and Physical Examination.” According to TRICARE, “It is important to schedule your Separation History and Physical Examination (SHPE) before you separate or start your terminal leave. Make sure you schedule it between 90 and 180 days before your end date.”

You will only need one of these exams. You can do so at a military hospital, clinic, or VA facility, and the DOD and VA share results with one another. This separation health assessment documents and assesses your medical history, medical concerns identified during your military career, and current health status.

Military members typically need their medical records for SHPE.  The ability to obtain legacy medical records from TRICARE ended on April 1, 2025, in favor of the new MHS Genesis system.

Patients who need copies of their legacy health records must retrieve them from the TRICARE Patient Portal before April 1, 2025 when the system is deactivated.

According to TRICARE.mil, you can request a physical copy “from your military hospital or clinic’s records management office.” Complete a request form in person, then return later to pick up the records. After the April 1, 2025, deadline, if you want your legacy health records, you’ll have to follow this process.

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