Capt. Hannah Snider, a clinical nurse for the 374th Medical Group, picks up a prescription bottle at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Feb. 27, 2025. (David S. Calcote/U.S. Air Force)
Prescription copayments paid by some military families living far from military health facilities will soon be waived under a change to the Tricare insurance program.
Starting Feb. 28, active-duty family members enrolled in Tricare Prime Remote in the United States will no longer pay copayments for covered prescription medications filled at retail pharmacies, according to a Jan. 27 Tricare news release.
Roughly 58,000 Tricare Prime Remote dependents are expected to benefit from the change, saving military families an estimated $5 million annually in eliminated pharmacy copayments, Defense Health Agency spokesman Peter Graves told Stars and Stripes via email Friday.
The waiver applies to dependents who live more than 50 miles or a one-hour drive from a military treatment facility pharmacy, where prescriptions are typically provided at no cost.
The policy change — part of the fiscal year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act — addresses “longstanding concerns raised by military families and service advocates about the inequity of requiring remote duty families to pay for prescriptions while families near installations receive them free,” Graves said.
Before the change, families enrolled in Tricare Prime Remote were required to pay copayments for prescriptions filled at retail pharmacies or through home delivery.
“The waiver is funded within DHA’s existing pharmacy operations budget,” Graves said. “DHA is absorbing this cost to eliminate the financial disparity for families at remote duty locations.”
On average, beneficiaries are expected to save about $85 per year, though actual savings will vary depending on prescription needs, Graves said. Families managing chronic conditions that require multiple medications could see savings of several hundred dollars annually.
“This change will help military families without access to military pharmacies keep their pharmacy costs down,” U.S. Public Health Service Cmdr. Teisha Robertson, chief of DHA’s Pharmacy Integration Branch, said in the Tricare release.
The waiver does not apply to those enrolled in Tricare Prime Remote Overseas, according to the release.
Eligible families do not need to take any action to receive the benefit. The copayment waiver will be applied automatically at the pharmacy counter beginning on the effective date, Tricare said.
