TRICARE after separation: TAMP, CHCBP, TRS and TRR explained

Short answer: regular active-duty TRICARE ends when you separate. If your Service says you qualify, TAMP gives you and your family 180 days of premium-free TRICARE. After that (or right away if you don't get TAMP), you can buy CHCBP for up to 18 months, but you must sign up within 60 days. Joining a drilling Guard or Reserve unit? Look at TRICARE Reserve Select. All of this is from tricare.mil, checked Oct 15, 2026.

1. TAMP: 180 days, no premiums (if you qualify)

TAMP may cover you and your eligible family members if you're (TRICARE: TAMP):

• Involuntarily separating from active duty under honorable conditions, including members receiving a voluntary separation incentive, or voluntary separation pay without retired or retainer pay
• A Guard or Reserve member separating from more than 30 consecutive days of active duty for a preplanned mission or in support of a contingency operation
• A Guard member separating from more than 30 consecutive days under Title 32 502(f) orders supporting a declared national disaster
• Separating after stop-loss, or after volunteering to stay on active duty less than 1 year, in support of a contingency operation
• Receiving a sole survivorship discharge
• Separating from regular active duty and joining the Selected Reserve the very next day

How it works: your Service decides TAMP eligibility and records it in DEERS; you can see it in milConnect. The 180 days start at separation. During TAMP you can use TRICARE Prime (where available), TRICARE Select, the US Family Health Plan, or the overseas plans, plus military hospitals and clinics.

Watch out: TAMP doesn't run during terminal leave, because you're still on active duty then. Children covered through TAMP lose TRICARE when the 180 days end.

2. CHCBP: the paid bridge, 18 to 36 months

The Continued Health Care Benefit Program is premium-based temporary coverage with the same coverage as TRICARE Select, including prescriptions (TRICARE: CHCBP).

The deadline that matters: buy CHCBP within 60 days of losing TRICARE (regular or TAMP). TRICARE's CHCBP page also says it's 30 days after losing TRS, so if you're coming off TRS, don't wait. Coverage starts the day after your TRICARE ends, so there's no gap if you enroll in time.

How to buy (TRICARE: Purchasing CHCBP):

1. Fill out DD Form 2837.
2. Mail it to Humana Military, Attn: CHCBP, P.O. Box 740072, Louisville, KY 40201-7472, with proof of eligibility and full payment for the first 90 days.
3. Renew every 90 days. A payment postmarked more than 30 days after your last day of coverage ends CHCBP permanently.

Premiums are on TRICARE costs. CHCBP members can't use military hospitals and clinics except in an emergency. Questions: Humana Military, 800-444-5445. As of Oct 15, 2026, TRICARE's CHCBP page warns of a system issue that can misroute or wrongly deny claims, so keep your paperwork.

3. TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS): if you'll drill

TRS is a premium-based plan for qualified Selected Reserve members and families (TRICARE: TRS). You don't qualify while you're on active-duty orders for more than 30 days, while you're covered by TAMP, or if you're eligible for FEHB. Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) members don't qualify. TRS starts after the TAMP period if you're eligible; your personnel office confirms that. You pay monthly premiums, a deductible and cost-shares. If you drop TRS, you can't re-enroll for 12 months.

4. TRICARE Retired Reserve (TRR): gray-area retirees

TRR is for members of the Retired Reserve who are qualified for non-regular retirement, under age 60 and not eligible for FEHB, plus their families (TRICARE: TRR). It's premium-based, and you don't have to wait until 60 to buy it.

Quick picker

• Involuntary separation or contingency demob? Check milConnect for TAMP, then plan for CHCBP or a civilian plan before day 180.
• Voluntary ETS, no TAMP? Your TRICARE ends at separation. Line up an employer plan, buy CHCBP within 60 days, or check VA health care.
• Joining a drilling Guard or Reserve unit? TRS (after TAMP, if you have it).
• Retired Reserve under 60? TRR.
• VA health care: many veterans qualify separately from TRICARE. See VA health care eligibility and our PACT Act guide.

Getting out involuntarily? Run the separation pay calculator, and file VA disability before you leave with a BDD claim.

Related: VA back pay and effective dates · Separation pay calculator · TRICARE after separation · 2027 VA pay chart (coming) · 2026 VA pay chart · Leaving-the-service timeline · All vet benefit guides