What Glucose Meters Does TRICARE Cover: CGMs, Strips, and Copays

TRICARE covers standard home blood glucose meters as durable medical equipment, pays for FreeStyle Lite and Precision Xtra test strips without prior authorization through the pharmacy benefit, and covers five specific continuous glucose monitor models from Abbott and Dexcom. If you are asking what glucose meters TRICARE covers, the short answer is that the plan does not publish a single list of approved fingerstick meter brands, but it does name the test strips and CGM systems it will pay for, and the brand you can use often depends on which benefit pathway you go through.

Standard Home Meters and Test Strips

Standard fingerstick glucose monitors fall under TRICARE’s medical benefit as durable medical equipment. TRICARE does not publish a list of specific approved meter brands in this category, and beneficiaries are directed to call their regional contractor for the brands available and the cost-share that applies.1TRICARE. Diabetic Supplies and Equipment

Test strips are the piece most people actually shop for, and here the list is short. Through the pharmacy benefit, only two brands are available without prior authorization: FreeStyle Lite and Precision Xtra, both from Abbott Diabetes Care. These are the preferred formulary strips. If you need a different brand, you first have to try both of those. Your prescriber then submits a prior authorization to Express Scripts documenting why a non-formulary strip is medically necessary. If approved, you pay the non-formulary copay.2TRICARE. Diabetic Test Strips

The standard quantity is 100 test strips per 30-day supply, or 300 per 90-day supply. Beyond that, your prescriber must file a Quantity Limit Override Request with clinical justification such as insulin pump use, gestational diabetes, or poorly controlled blood glucose.3Express Scripts. Quantity Limit Override Request Form for Test Strips

Covered Continuous Glucose Monitors

TRICARE covers FDA-approved CGMs from Abbott (FreeStyle Libre) and Dexcom under the pharmacy benefit.4TRICARE. Glucose Monitor FAQ The Express Scripts prior authorization form dated February 2025 lists five eligible systems:

  • Dexcom G6
  • Dexcom G7
  • FreeStyle Libre 2
  • FreeStyle Libre 3
  • FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus sensor

These are the models identified on the current pharmacy prior authorization form.5Express Scripts. TRICARE Prior Authorization Request Form for CGM Systems A military treatment facility formulary from May 2025 also confirms the FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus as covered with prior authorization.6Redstone Arsenal. Fox Army Health Center Pharmacy Formulary The Dexcom Stelo does not appear in current TRICARE coverage documents.

Under the medical benefit, TRICARE says “many brands” of CGMs are available as durable medical equipment and refers beneficiaries to their regional contractor for a full list.4TRICARE. Glucose Monitor FAQ Because formulary coverage shifts over time, the authoritative check for a specific model is the TRICARE Formulary Search Tool managed by Express Scripts.

Pharmacy Benefit or Medical Benefit

CGMs can be obtained two different ways, and the route affects your copay, the approval process, and sometimes which model you can get.

Through the Pharmacy Benefit

Sensors, transmitters, and readers are dispensed like prescriptions. You can fill them at a military pharmacy, through TRICARE Pharmacy Home Delivery (Express Scripts mail order), or at a TRICARE retail network pharmacy. Every CGM obtained this way needs a prescription and prior authorization, even if you already have approval under the medical benefit.1TRICARE. Diabetic Supplies and Equipment Pharmacy authorizations run one year at military pharmacies and remain valid through home delivery as long as medical necessity continues.4TRICARE. Glucose Monitor FAQ

Abbott FreeStyle Libre readers are available at no cost through the DOD Reader Program, which beneficiaries in the U.S. and U.S. territories can reach at 904-638-5519.4TRICARE. Glucose Monitor FAQ

Through the Medical Benefit

Here, meters and CGMs are classified as durable medical equipment. To qualify for a CGM through this route, your physician must document three things: poor diabetic control after at least six months of multiple daily insulin injections or insulin pump therapy, self-testing at least four times per day, and completion of a diabetes education program.1TRICARE. Diabetic Supplies and Equipment Cost-sharing follows medical benefit rates rather than pharmacy copays and varies by plan.

Prior Authorization for a CGM

Prior authorization is the main hurdle. Under the pharmacy benefit, the Express Scripts form requires the patient to be using basal or prandial insulin injections with an insulin fill in the past 180 days, to use the CGM daily, and to agree to share CGM data with their healthcare team. The provider is also expected to assess at each visit whether traditional test strip use can be reduced. Initial and renewal authorizations last one year.5Express Scripts. TRICARE Prior Authorization Request Form for CGM Systems

Under the medical benefit, the TRICARE West Region criteria require documented diabetes (type 1, type 2, gestational, or other), an in-person evaluation of diabetes control over the previous six months, completion of a diabetes education program with device training, and a current treatment plan that includes daily insulin injections or insulin pump therapy.7TriWest Healthcare Alliance. TRICARE West Region Infusion Pumps and Continuous Glucose Monitors

What You Will Pay in 2026

Costs vary sharply by where you fill the prescription. The 2026 pharmacy copays, effective January 1, 2026, are:

Active-duty service members pay $0 at every pharmacy location. Active-duty family members enrolled in TRICARE Prime Remote also pay $0 at retail network pharmacies and home delivery as of February 28, 2026. Medically retired sponsors and certain survivors have copays frozen at 2017 levels: $0 generic and $20 brand through home delivery, and $10 generic and $24 brand at retail network pharmacies.10TRICARE. Pharmacy Costs

If you get a meter or CGM as durable medical equipment under the medical benefit, 2026 cost-shares apply after your annual deductible. TRICARE Prime active-duty family members pay $0 for network DME. TRICARE Prime retirees and their families pay 20% of the TRICARE-allowable charge. TRICARE Select active-duty family members pay 10% to 15% in-network depending on group and 20% out-of-network. TRICARE Select retirees and their families pay 20% in-network and 25% out-of-network.11TRICARE. Compare Costs

TRICARE For Life Follows Medicare

If you have TRICARE For Life and live in the United States or a U.S. territory, you follow Medicare’s rules for therapeutic CGMs rather than the standard TRICARE pharmacy pathway.4TRICARE. Glucose Monitor FAQ Medicare covers CGMs as durable medical equipment under Part B. The qualifying criteria are a diabetes diagnosis, insulin use or a documented history of problematic hypoglycemia, sufficient training on the device, and a provider visit within the past six months to evaluate diabetes control.12Medicare.gov. Continuous Glucose Monitors Medicare does not restrict coverage to specific brands and will cover any FDA-approved device.13American Diabetes Association. FAQs on Medicare CGM Coverage After the Part B deductible, you owe 20% of the Medicare-approved amount, and TRICARE typically picks up that 20%, leaving $0 out of pocket for Medicare-covered services.11TRICARE. Compare Costs

If You Have USFHP or Live Overseas

Beneficiaries in the US Family Health Plan are not eligible for the standard TRICARE Pharmacy Program and get diabetes supplies through a USFHP pharmacy provider. USFHP uses the same preferred strips, FreeStyle Lite and Precision Xtra. Non-formulary strips or meters are available with a medical necessity determination for clinical exceptions such as needing a talking meter for visual impairment or a meter that communicates wirelessly with an insulin pump.14USFHP. Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose System Medical Necessity Form

Overseas, you can use a military pharmacy or TRICARE Pharmacy Home Delivery. If neither is available and you buy from a local pharmacy, you pay upfront and file a reimbursement claim through the TRICARE Overseas Beneficiary Secure Claims Portal or by mail.15TRICARE Overseas Program. How to File a TRICARE Overseas Claim

Confirming a Specific Device Is Covered

TRICARE does not publish one master list of every covered meter or CGM. The most reliable way to confirm a specific device is to use the TRICARE Formulary Search Tool through Express Scripts, which shows current formulary status, prior authorization requirements, and copay tiers. For medical benefit questions about devices classified as durable medical equipment, call your regional TRICARE contractor. For pharmacy questions, including the status of a prior authorization, call Express Scripts.1TRICARE. Diabetic Supplies and Equipment