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Tech. Sgt. Thesia Westmoreland, non-commissioned officer in charge of pharmacy operations with the 72nd Medical Support Squadron, pulls medications to fill prescriptions at the 72nd Medical Group Pharmacy at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.

Tech. Sgt. Thesia Westmoreland, non-commissioned officer in charge of pharmacy operations with the 72nd Medical Support Squadron, pulls medications to fill prescriptions at the 72nd Medical Group Pharmacy at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. (Kelly White/U.S. Air Force)

Tricare Select Group A retirees will be required to pay new fees starting Jan. 1, 2021. An individual’s monthly enrollment fee will be $12.50 or $150 annually.

Monthly family fees will be $25 or $300 annually. There are 407,431 beneficiaries of Tricare Select, according to 2019 data from the Defense Department.

The new fees were mandated by the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act’s reorganization of Tricare, the health care program for service members, retirees and their families.

Any service member who joined the military before Jan. 1, 2018 is in Select Group A. Select Group B are those who enlisted or commissioned after Jan. 1, 2018, and have already been paying enrollment fees. The Defense Health Agency said there are no changes to Group B.

Beneficiaries will need to contact their Tricare regional contractors and set up their enrollment payments. The Tricare regions are: Humana Military in the eastern United States, HealthNet Federal Services in the west, and International SOS Government Services overseas.

“In order to maintain health coverage unless waived by law, Tricare Select Group A retired beneficiaries must take action and pay their Tricare Select enrollment fees,” according to a statement from the Defense Health Agency, which oversees health care for the military.

However, enrollment fees are waived for Chapter 61 retirees, their family and survivors of deceased service members. Chapter 61 refers to veterans who were medically retired from military service with a rated disability of 30% or greater, according to the Army’s Human Resources Command.

Beynon.Steven@Stripes.com Twitter: @StevenBeynon

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