TRICARE Benefits for Medal of Honor Recipients (2026)
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## Quick answer Medal of Honor recipients and their eligible family members are entitled to TRICARE Select coverage with **zero out-of-pocket costs**. This means no annual enrollment fees, no deductibles, and no cost-shares for covered medical services, regardless of whether the recipient is under or over age 65.
Details
The Medal of Honor is the United States' highest military decoration, and the Department of Defense provides a unique healthcare benefit to its recipients. Under federal law, these individuals and their dependents are treated as a special category within the TRICARE system.
### TRICARE Select at No Cost While most retirees and their families pay enrollment fees and cost-shares for TRICARE Select, Medal of Honor recipients (and their survivors) are exempt from these costs. * **Enrollment Fees (2026):** $0. * **Annual Deductibles (2026):** $0. * **Catastrophic Cap:** While there are no cost-shares, the catastrophic cap still protects families against any non-covered services that might arise. * **Pharmacy:** Recipients generally pay the same pharmacy copayments as other retirees through Express Scripts, unless the medication is received at a Military Treatment Facility (MTF) pharmacy, where it remains $0.
### Enrollment and Eligibility To receive these benefits, the status must be correctly reflected in the **Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS)**. Once the Medal of Honor status is verified in DEERS, the recipient and their family members are coded for the fee-exempt status.
### The Over-65 Transition (TRICARE For Life) For most beneficiaries, turning 65 means transitioning to TRICARE For Life (TFL), which requires paying Medicare Part B premiums. * Medal of Honor recipients remain eligible for TRICARE Select even after reaching age 65. * They are **not required** to enroll in Medicare Part B to keep their TRICARE Select benefit, though they may choose to do so to have additional coverage options. * If they choose TRICARE For Life, the standard TFL rules apply, but their TRICARE Select option remains a unique "safety net" that other retirees do not have.
### Regional Management Even with special fee exemptions, care is still managed by the regional contractors: * **East Region:** Humana Military. * **West Region:** TriWest Healthcare Alliance.
## Who this affects * **Medal of Honor Recipients:** Primary beneficiaries in any military branch. * **Eligible Family Members:** Spouses and children registered in DEERS. * **Survivors:** Unremarried surviving spouses and eligible children of deceased Medal of Honor recipients.
## Sources * **TRICARE.mil:** [Plan Costs for Medal of Honor Recipients](https://www.tricare.mil/Costs/Compare/MOH) * **Defense Health Agency (DHA):** [Beneficiary Categories](https://health.mil/) * **TriWest Healthcare Alliance:** [West Region Provider Network](https://www.triwest.com/) * **Humana Military:** [East Region Benefits](https://www.humanamilitary.com/)