Tricare Select Enrollment Fee
 

For those using Tricare Select, there will now be an annual enrollment fee and an increase in the annual cap. If you do not select a payment method you will be DROPPED!!! More details here: https://www.militarytimes.com/pay-be...KzhRMpdWHOINOY

Well that sucks. I only use Select as a secondary insurance to my company plan. Now I have to crunch the numbers to see if Tricare is worth keeping.

Ah congress, the gift that keeps on giving. This will save them millions from the retirees that don't realize this is a thing and get dropped. That and it will drive a lot of folks to prime, which is another cost savings for them.
Nothing like changing the terms of the military retirement at their whim. Every year there is some little cut here or there. I suspect by the time I am 65 and have to retire for real, that will equal a lot of bleeding.
It's funny how they all toot this rah rah we love the military horn, but then when it is time to make cuts, they do it silently and with the consent of active military leadership who don't mind screwing retirees to get an extra flag billet or two in the bill.

The good news is that if I dump Select I can legally contribute to an HSA. The increase from $3000 to $3500 in max out of pocket expenses combined with the $300 family enrollment fee means that Select has dropped significantly in value for me.

I don’t blame military leadership. Their job is to fight the current war and prep for the next one. It’s Congress’ job to ensure compensation/benefits for military members is up to snuff. They will keep cutting until retention is a problem.

I completely get it. I understand the economics behind it. It's just BS to change the terms of the retirement after you are already retired.
You want to cut benefits for new entrants? Be my guest. Blended retirement is a great program for certain people. The way they did that is the way they should do any wholesale changes.

Dont get me wrong. In my opinion, most folks who stayed for 20 did it for two things, retirement and medical. To me this is the powers that be changing the contract after they’ve already taken delivery of the product. Congress has taken advantage of people’s trust. This is not really a political issue (Republican vs Democrat) as both parties are willing to save a buck at military retirees expense. It simply reflects the fact that they know we won’t really get a sympathetic audience from the general public who prefer to thank us for our service with their words, not their checkbooks.

Great summary. I agree.

It's just $25 a month...what am I missing here?

out of pocked catastrophic cap went from $3000 to $3500. And people who miss the memo and don’t set up payment get dropped.

Payments don't start until 1 Jan and there will be more info sent out on how to do it later in the year. I don't think there will be anyone that "misses the memo" before they get dropped. It still sucks though.