Federal employees generally can’t get TRICARE Reserve Select because federal law bars any Selected Reserve member who is eligible for the Federal Employees Health Benefits program from enrolling in TRS, and almost every federal civilian job carries FEHB eligibility as a standard benefit. Eligibility alone triggers the block. You don’t have to actually enroll in FEHB, and declining it doesn’t automatically fix the problem. Congress has voted to repeal this exclusion, but the repeal doesn’t take effect until January 1, 2030.
How the FEHB Exclusion Works
TRICARE Reserve Select is a premium-based health plan for Selected Reserve members who are not on active duty orders for more than 30 days.1TRICARE. TRICARE Reserve Select To qualify, a reservist must not be covered under the Transitional Assistance Management Program and must not be eligible for or enrolled in FEHB.2TRICARE. Who Can Buy TRICARE Reserve Select
That FEHB requirement is the one that catches federal employees. The statute is explicit: before January 1, 2030, TRS eligibility “does not apply to a member who is enrolled, or is eligible to enroll, in a health benefits plan” under the FEHB program.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1076d If your federal position entitles you to enroll in FEHB, you cannot purchase TRS whether you signed up for FEHB, declined it, or never got around to deciding.4TRICARE. TRICARE Reserve Select
The block extends to your family. Because the sponsor must qualify for TRS in order for dependents to get coverage through the sponsor, an FEHB-eligible reservist cannot cover a spouse or children through TRS.2TRICARE. Who Can Buy TRICARE Reserve Select
Why Congress Wrote It This Way
Both programs are heavily subsidized by the federal government. FEHB premiums are covered at roughly 72 to 75 percent by the government, and TRS is subsidized at about 72 percent of its actuarial cost.5U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Cost of Insurance The exclusion was written to keep one person from drawing taxpayer premium subsidies from two different federal health programs at once.
The rule assumes the two options are interchangeable. In practice, the out-of-pocket costs are very different, and that is where the exclusion pinches.
What the Exclusion Costs You
In 2026, TRS premiums are $57.88 per month for an individual and $286.66 per month for member-and-family coverage, which works out to roughly $695 or $3,440 for the year.6TRICARE Newsroom. Learn Your 2026 TRICARE Health Plan Costs TRS also sets a 2026 catastrophic cap of $4,635, with network deductibles of $198 for an individual and $397 for a family.7The Official Army Benefits Website. Learn Your 2026 TRICARE Health Plan Costs
FEHB costs the employee more. The 2026 program-wide weighted average biweekly premium is $451.05 for Self Only and $1,080.60 for Self and Family.8U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Premiums After the government’s share, the average employee pays roughly $274 per month for Self Only and about $656 per month for Self and Family, with some plans running higher. A federal employee with a family and reserve status could save close to $4,400 a year on premiums alone if the exclusion did not exist.
Dual-Status Military Technicians
The exclusion is hardest on dual-status military technicians, federal civilian employees whose job description requires them to keep their Guard or Reserve membership as a condition of employment. An estimated 51,000 military technicians within the Department of Defense fall into this category. Their federal position makes them FEHB-eligible, which disqualifies them from TRS, and the same federal position forces them to keep the reserve status that would otherwise let them buy the cheaper plan.
Ways Federal Employees Can Still Get TRS
The exclusion has real edges. A few situations open a path.
Federal Jobs That Don’t Carry FEHB Eligibility
Not every federal position comes with FEHB. Temporary employees on appointments of one year or less who have not completed a year of continuous service are generally ineligible. So are non-Postal employees on temporary, seasonal, or intermittent schedules if the office expects them to work fewer than 130 hours per calendar month.9eCFR. 5 CFR 890.102 If you hold one of these positions and serve in the Selected Reserve, you can enroll in TRS because the FEHB exclusion never attaches.
Declining FEHB
The statute disqualifies anyone “eligible to enroll,” but TRICARE’s own guidance treats reservists who are not enrolled in FEHB as able to hold TRS if they meet the other requirements.1TRICARE. TRICARE Reserve Select Some federal employees decline FEHB specifically to keep TRS. The risk is real. Canceling FEHB outside the annual Open Season generally requires a qualifying life event to re-enroll later.10U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Enrollment If your reserve status changes and TRS ends, you could be left without coverage until the next Open Season.
Enrolling Through a Reservist Spouse
If your spouse is also in the Selected Reserve and is not FEHB-eligible, your spouse can be the TRS sponsor and cover the family.1TRICARE. TRICARE Reserve Select You can be listed as a dependent. This path only exists when the other spouse independently qualifies; if only one spouse is the reservist and that spouse is the federal employee, the family has no TRS option.
The 2030 Repeal and the Bill to Accelerate It
Section 701 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 amended 10 U.S.C. § 1076d to repeal the FEHB exclusion, but the repeal doesn’t take effect until January 1, 2030.11Federal Register. TRICARE Program – TRICARE Reserve Select Coverage for Members of the Selected Reserve Once it does, any Selected Reserve member who meets the remaining TRS requirements can enroll regardless of FEHB status.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1076d
In 2025, the Servicemember Healthcare Freedom Act (H.R. 3547 / S. 1861) was introduced to move that date forward to January 1, 2026. An estimated 113,000 drilling Guard and Reserve members who also hold federal civilian jobs would benefit. The bill has not been enacted, and the 2030 date remains the law.
What Happens if You Get Activated
Active-duty orders for more than 30 days end TRS eligibility and transition the service member to active-duty TRICARE coverage such as TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Select.1TRICARE. TRICARE Reserve Select Activation also forces a decision on your FEHB coverage. You can continue FEHB for up to 24 months or terminate it effective the day before you report. If you continue, you pay the normal employee share for the first 12 months; during the second 12 months you pay both shares plus an additional 2 percent, though your agency may waive premium payments for some or all of the period.12U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Military Service
If you terminate FEHB and later return to your federal job under reemployment rights, your enrollment is automatically reinstated on the day you return to civilian duty, and you then have 60 days to change plan or coverage level.12U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Military Service Dropping FEHB at activation carries less risk than dropping it in ordinary times, because federal law guarantees you get it back on return.