Most Tricare health plan costs for military and retiree households will go up between 2% and 3% in 2026, with some steeper increases of over 15% for prescription drugs.
The Military Health System announced the new rates Nov. 7. Many Tricare Prime and Tricare Select users will see increases in their annual enrollment fees and deductibles, with additional rises in copayments for medical services. Some of the biggest increases in 2026 will be to the monthly premiums for Tricare Reserve Select and, as in 2025, Tricare Young Adult members.
Read Next: Everything You Need to Know About Tricare Open Enrollment
Tricare open enrollment season, when members may change their health insurance coverage for the upcoming year, runs from Nov. 10 to Dec. 9.
The current costs for the Tricare Dental Program will last through February 2026.
Tricare Groups
Costs depend on which Tricare "group" members belong to, determined by the date the service member first entered the military. Group A consists of those who entered service before Jan. 1, 2018, while Group B includes those who entered after that date.
Enrollment Fees
Active-duty families pay no annual enrollment fees for either Tricare Prime or Tricare Select, but retirees do, and they’ll see increases in the upcoming year.
Group A retirees enrolled in Tricare Select will see their annual enrollment fee increase from $364.92 to $375 for a family and from $181.92 to $186.96 for an individual. Group A retirees using Tricare Prime will see the enrollment fee for a family plan increase from $744 to $765, while an individual's costs will go from $372 to $381.96 annually.
Retirees in Tricare Group B will see similar increases. The annual enrollment fee for the Prime family plan will rise from $900.96 to $927.00, while the individual plan will go from $450 to $462.96. Enrollment fees for Tricare Select will increase from $1,158.96 to $1,191 for a family and from $579 to $594.96 for an individual.
Deductibles
Annual deductibles -- the amount those using Tricare Select must pay out of pocket before Tricare makes any payments -- will also increase in 2026. Members using Tricare Prime don't pay deductibles.
Group A active-duty family members and retirees will see no changes to the deductible amount.
But a military member with the rank of E-4 or below in Group B will see their family deductible increase from $128 to $132, while families with sponsors E-5 and above in Group B will see their deductible rise from $386 to $397.
Individual military members in Group B will also see their deductibles rise in 2026, from $64 to $66 for E-4 and below, and from $193 to $198 for E-5 and above.
Copayments
Many copayments will also go up in the upcoming year. The cost of a primary care visit for active-duty Tricare Select users with a family in Group A will go from $27 to $28 in 2026, while the primary care copay for Group B family members will stay at $19.
Retirees using Tricare Select will see a primary care visit go from $37 to $38 in Group A and from $32 to $33 in Group B. Those using Tricare Prime will pay $26 for a primary care visit, up from $25.
Premiums
Some Tricare plans are premium-based, and those monthly premiums are going up in 2026.
For reservists, the premiums for Tricare Reserve Select will go from $53.80 per month to $57.88 per month for an individual member and from $274.48 to $286.66 for a family, increases of 7.6% and 4.4% respectively.
Tricare Retired Reserve premiums will increase from $631.26 to $645.90 for an individual, and from $1,513.04 to $1,548.30 for a family.
Premiums for the Tricare Young Adult Program for members' dependents ages 21 to 26 will go from $727 a month to $794 for Prime coverage, a 9.2% increase; and from $337 to $363 for Select, up 7.7%
Catastrophic Cap
The catastrophic cap is Tricare beneficiaries' maximum out-of-pocket cost for all health care provided each year. It limits beneficiaries' liability in the case of a serious illness or injury. Once a beneficiary has hit the cap through copayments or pharmacy charges during the year, Tricare will pay the rest in full.
Group A retirees using Tricare Select will see this cap increase in 2026 from $4,261 to $4,381; and for retirees in Group B, it will go up from $4,509 to $4,635.
While the cap for active-duty family members in Group A who have either Tricare Select or Tricare Prime will remain the same at $1,000 annually, those in Group B will see it increase from $1,288 to $1,324.
Related: Everything You Need to Know About Tricare Open Enrollment
