Keeping TRICARE after a divorce from a service member is possible, but only under narrow federal rules. Lifetime coverage requires that your marriage, the member’s creditable military service, and the overlap between them each lasted at least 20 years. Shorter overlaps get one year of transitional coverage or nothing, though a premium-based bridge program can fill the gap for up to 36 months.
The 20/20/20 Rule for Lifetime Coverage
The 20/20/20 rule is the only route to permanent TRICARE eligibility as a former spouse. On the date the divorce is finalized, all three of these conditions must be true:1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1072 – Definitions
- You were married to the service member for at least 20 years.
- The service member completed at least 20 years of service creditable toward military retirement pay.
- The full 20 years of marriage overlapped with the 20 years of creditable service.
Meet all three and you become your own sponsor in the military eligibility system. Your Social Security number replaces the service member’s as the sponsor number, and you receive a military ID card in your own name.2TRICARE. Former Spouses That card lets you enroll in TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Select and gives you access to commissaries, exchanges, and base services independent of your ex-spouse.3United States Coast Guard. Former Spouse ID Card and Medical Information
As long as you remain unmarried and do not have employer-sponsored health insurance, this coverage continues for life.
The 20/20/15 Rule for One Year of Transitional Coverage
If the marriage and creditable service overlapped for at least 15 years but less than 20, you keep TRICARE for exactly one year from the date the divorce is finalized.4TRICARE Newsroom. I’m Getting Divorced. What Happens to My TRICARE Benefit? The other two requirements are the same: at least 20 years of marriage and at least 20 years of creditable service.
The 20/20/15 benefit covers healthcare only. It does not include commissary, exchange, or base recreation access.3United States Coast Guard. Former Spouse ID Card and Medical Information Once the year ends, TRICARE eligibility ends permanently, so have replacement coverage ready before the deadline arrives.
How Remarriage and Employer Coverage Change Things
Even after you qualify, two events can cut off your TRICARE. One is permanent. The other is not, and confusing them can cost you the benefit for good.
Remarriage Is Permanent
If you remarry, you lose TRICARE eligibility immediately and permanently, whether you qualified under 20/20/20 or 20/20/15. This holds even if the new marriage later ends in divorce or the death of your new spouse. The single exception is remarriage to another uniformed service member, which makes you eligible again as a current military spouse.2TRICARE. Former Spouses5TRICARE. Loss of Eligibility
If you currently rely on TRICARE and are weighing remarriage, understand that no later change in circumstances will bring the coverage back.
Employer Coverage Suspends but Doesn’t End Eligibility
The 20/20/20 statute includes a condition: a qualifying former spouse must not have coverage under an employer-sponsored health plan.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1072 – Definitions Enrolling in an employer plan suspends TRICARE, but if you later lose that employer coverage, your TRICARE eligibility can be reinstated once you apply.3United States Coast Guard. Former Spouse ID Card and Medical Information Keep your DEERS record current whenever your employer coverage status changes.
If You Don’t Qualify: The CHCBP Bridge
Former spouses who fall short of both rules lose TRICARE the day the divorce is final. The same is true for 20/20/15 spouses after their transitional year runs out. Two paths remain.
The main one is the Continued Health Care Benefit Program, a premium-based plan authorized by federal law that provides coverage comparable to TRICARE Select, including prescription drug benefits.6eCFR. 32 CFR 199.20 – Continued Health Care Benefit Program (CHCBP) CHCBP is a separate program, not a TRICARE plan.
The enrollment deadline is strict. You must apply within 60 days of losing TRICARE eligibility, and missing that window closes the door.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1078a – Continued Health Benefits Coverage For former spouses, coverage lasts up to 36 months, measured from the divorce date or the end of a 20/20/15 transitional year, whichever is later.6eCFR. 32 CFR 199.20 – Continued Health Care Benefit Program (CHCBP) As of 2026, individual CHCBP coverage costs $2,103 per quarter, roughly $701 a month.8TRICARE. How Much Is the Premium, Deductible, and Catastrophic Cap for the Continued Health Care Benefit Program?
Losing TRICARE also counts as a qualifying event for the federal Health Insurance Marketplace, so you can enroll in a marketplace plan outside the normal open enrollment period. Depending on income, you may qualify for premium subsidies, and Medicaid may apply if your income fits your state’s threshold.5TRICARE. Loss of Eligibility
Reserve and National Guard Service Counts Differently
Counting 20 years of creditable service is simple for a full active-duty career. For Reserve and National Guard members, service is measured in qualifying years, and each qualifying year must include at least 50 retirement points. Points come from active-duty days, drill attendance, funeral honors duty, and membership in a reserve component.9Military Compensation and Financial Readiness. Reserve Retirement
A reservist could have 25 calendar years of service but only 18 qualifying years if some years fell below the 50-point threshold. Before assuming you meet the overlap requirement, ask for the service member’s retirement point statement and have someone verify the math.
Children and Stepchildren
Divorce does not change TRICARE eligibility for the service member’s biological or adopted children. They stay covered until they age out at 21, or 23 if enrolled full-time in college, provided they are not married or on active duty.10TRICARE. Getting a Divorce or Annulment Children living with the non-military parent can still use TRICARE Prime through a split-enrollment feature that lets them get care in a different location from the sponsor.
Stepchildren who were never legally adopted by the military sponsor lose TRICARE eligibility when the divorce is final, at the same time as the former spouse.11TRICARE. I’m Getting Divorced, What Happens to My TRICARE Eligibility? If stepchildren depend on TRICARE, line up other coverage before the divorce is finalized.
After a child ages out, they can purchase TRICARE Young Adult, in either a Prime or Select version, until age 26. Both require monthly premiums.12TRICARE. TRICARE Young Adult
What to Do Right After the Divorce Is Final
Qualifying for TRICARE on paper is not the same as having it work at the pharmacy counter. The military’s eligibility database, DEERS, has to reflect your new status before anyone can verify coverage. Gather the following:
- Your final divorce decree, an original or certified copy with a file-stamp date and judge’s signature.
- Your marriage certificate, needed to calculate the overlap period.
- Proof of the service member’s service: a DD Form 214 for separated or retired members, or a Statement of Service for those still serving.
Take the documents to a military ID card facility, sometimes called a RAPIDS office. Staff will update your DEERS record from spouse to former spouse and determine whether you qualify under 20/20/20 or 20/20/15.2TRICARE. Former Spouses If you qualify under 20/20/20, you’ll get a new ID card listing your name with your own Social Security number as the sponsor.13milConnect. FAQ – Life Events – Divorce
There is no formal statutory deadline to update DEERS, but the 60-day CHCBP window starts on the day you lose TRICARE, regardless of whether your record has been changed. Don’t wait, and don’t count on your ex-spouse to report the divorce for you.
Turning 65 and TRICARE For Life
Former spouses with lifetime coverage under 20/20/20 face one more requirement at age 65. TRICARE transitions to TRICARE For Life, which wraps around Medicare as a supplement. To keep it, you must enroll in both Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B.14TRICARE. TRICARE For Life
Part B carries a monthly premium, and skipping it when first eligible creates two problems: a gap in TRICARE coverage during any period you lack Part B, and a Medicare late-enrollment penalty that permanently increases your Part B premium for every year you could have enrolled but didn’t.15TRICARE. TRICARE and Medicare Turning Age 65 Brochure Enroll during your initial Medicare enrollment period to avoid both.