What is TRICARE Extra?

TRICARE Extra was a preferred provider option within the former TRICARE Standard plan that provided cost savings when beneficiaries chose to use network providers. Under TRICARE Extra, beneficiaries received a 5% discount on cost-shares when they used providers in the TRICARE network, and the providers filed claims on the beneficiary's behalf. TRICARE Extra was not a separate plan but rather an option within TRICARE Standard that was automatically available whenever a Standard beneficiary chose a network provider. TRICARE Extra was discontinued on January 1, 2018, as part of the TRICARE reform mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017. Former TRICARE Extra and Standard beneficiaries were transitioned to the new TRICARE Select plan, which incorporated the network provider benefits of Extra into a more comprehensive plan structure with its own enrollment requirements and cost-sharing framework. Beneficiaries who previously used TRICARE Extra should now enroll in TRICARE Select to receive similar benefits with network provider discounts.