DHA

Military & Veterans

Defense Health Agency (DHA)

TRICARE coverage that continues for surviving spouses and children

When someone dies Survivor benefits Forms

The Defense Health Agency operates TRICARE, the civilian-network healthcare program of the Military Health System. When a uniformed service member or retiree (the "sponsor") dies, TRICARE continues to cover surviving spouses and children — but the plan type, cost, and length of coverage depend on whether the sponsor died on active duty, as a retiree, or as a National Guard or Reserve member. Surviving spouses keep TRICARE unless they remarry. Children remain covered until they age out, marry, or lose eligibility for another reason. Families who lose TRICARE eligibility (for example, a remarrying spouse or an aging-out child) may purchase the Continued Health Care Benefit Program (CHCBP) as a bridge plan.

Notifying the DHA when someone dies

A family member reports the death. DHA's page on what to do after a death →

Report the death to Express Scripts, the TRICARE pharmacy contractor, at 877-363-1303. It is the only report the family must make; medical and dental coverage updates automatically once DMDC hears from Social Security or the uniformed services.

Send DMDC/DEERS the death certificate to speed the update:

•Take a copy to a local Uniformed Services ID card office, with two unexpired IDs, one a state or government-issued photo ID
•Fax a copy to 800-336-4416 or 502-335-9980
•Mail a copy to DMDC/DEERS Support Office, 400 Gigling Road, Seaside, CA 93955-6771
•Call DMDC at 800-538-9552 with questions

Ask a casualty assistance officer or the sponsor's service personnel office whether the sponsor was on active duty at death. That status sets which survivor coverage rules apply.

Choose or change the TRICARE health plan within 90 days of the death through the regional contractor for the survivor's address:

•East: Humana Military, 800-444-5445
•West: TriWest Healthcare Alliance, 888-874-9378
•Overseas: International SOS Government Services, country-specific numbers, 24/7

Enroll in the Continued Health Care Benefit Program within 60 days when a spouse or child loses TRICARE eligibility. Send DD Form 2837 with the first quarterly premium to Humana Military, Attn: CHCBP, P.O. Box 740072, Louisville, KY 40201-7472.

Apply for TRICARE Young Adult on DD Form 2947, with two months of premium, before a surviving child's coverage ends at 21, or 23 for a full-time college student.

Required Documents

Copy of the death certificate: only if notifying DMDC/DEERS directly rather than waiting for the automatic update
Two unexpired forms of ID: for any ID card transaction at a Uniformed Services ID card office. One must be a state or government-issued photo ID.
DD Form 2837, the CHCBP Enrollment Application, with the first quarterly premium: if enrolling in CHCBP
DD Form 2947, the TRICARE Young Adult Application, with two months of premium: if a surviving child is purchasing TRICARE Young Adult
Letter from the school registrar: to extend a child's TRICARE eligibility to age 23. It confirms full-time enrollment in an accredited college in pursuit of an associate's degree or higher.

Deadlines2

Change of TRICARE health plan after a death in the family (qualifying life event): within 90 days of the date of death^{1, 2}
Enrollment in the Continued Health Care Benefit Program: within 60 days of losing TRICARE eligibility³

What DHA pays or provides to survivors7

Transitional Survivor Coverage (Active Duty Sponsor)

Health coverage for survivors

For the first three years after a death on active duty, surviving spouses and children are "transitional survivors" covered as active duty family members, with the same plans and costs: TRICARE Prime, Prime Remote, Select and their overseas versions, the Uniformed Services Family Health Plan, and TRICARE For Life.^{4, 5}

Who qualifies: Surviving spouses and children of a service member who died on active duty

Amount: $0 annual enrollment fee for TRICARE Prime and TRICARE Select in Groups A and B; 2026 catastrophic cap of $1,000 per family in Group A or $1,324 per family in Group B

How to apply: Coverage continues automatically once DMDC receives the death notification; the family can change plans within the 90-day qualifying life event window.

Survivor Coverage (After 3-Year Transitional Period)

Health coverage for survivors

After three years, a surviving spouse is covered as a retired family member; DEERS records the change and sends a letter before it. Plans: TRICARE Prime, TRICARE Select, TRICARE Select Overseas, the Uniformed Services Family Health Plan in specific U.S. locations, and TRICARE For Life with Medicare Part A and Part B.^{4, 5}

Who qualifies: Surviving spouses of active-duty deaths, after the 3-year transitional period ends

Amount: Group A, 2026: $0 TRICARE Select enrollment fee; TRICARE Prime fee frozen at the rate when DEERS classified the survivor ($381.96 individual, $765 family from Jan. 1, 2026); $3,000 family cap

Survivor Coverage (Retired Sponsor)

Health coverage for survivors

If the sponsor died after retiring from active duty, including medical retirement, survivors keep the plan options and costs they had before; there is no transitional period. Plans: TRICARE Prime, TRICARE Select, TRICARE Select Overseas, the Uniformed Services Family Health Plan, and TRICARE For Life with Medicare.^{6, 5}

Who qualifies: Surviving spouses and children of a retired service member

Amount: The retiree costs they had before, with the 2026 Group A survivor carve-out: $0 TRICARE Select enrollment fee, a frozen TRICARE Prime enrollment fee and a $3,000 family catastrophic cap

Survivor Coverage (National Guard or Reserve Sponsor)

Health coverage for survivors

Benefits depend on the sponsor's military status at death. Survivors may qualify for medical and dental benefits if the sponsor died while serving on active duty, for more than 30 consecutive days or for 30 days or less, or died after retiring from the Guard or Reserve.⁷

Who qualifies: Surviving family members of a National Guard or Reserve sponsor

Amount: Determined by the sponsor's status at death and the resulting plan

TRICARE Dental Program Survivor Benefit Plan

Health coverage for survivors

Surviving family members of a sponsor who died on active duty may qualify for this plan, which offers the same dental coverage as the TRICARE Dental Program. Family members already in the program move to it automatically; others can enroll.⁸

Who qualifies: Surviving family members of a service member who died on active duty

Amount: TRICARE pays 100% of the monthly premium, premium-free for 3 years for surviving spouses; cost-shares still apply to covered services

Continued Health Care Benefit Program (CHCBP)

Health coverage for survivors

A premium-based bridge plan run by Humana Military that gives 18 to 36 months of temporary coverage after TRICARE eligibility ends, with no free period for surviving spouses. It covers the same as TRICARE Select, including prescriptions, and gives the minimum essential coverage the Affordable Care Act requires.^{3, 9}

Who qualifies: Dependent spouses and children who lose TRICARE, such as a spouse who remarries outside the uniformed services or a child who ages out, for up to 36 months; unremarried former spouses for up to 36 months, with possible additional coverage

Amount: $2,103 per quarter individual and $5,339 per quarter family in 2026, plus outpatient deductibles and TRICARE Select Group B copayments and cost-shares

How to apply: Send DD Form 2837 with the premium payment to Humana Military within 60 days of losing TRICARE eligibility. Form DD Form 2837.

TRICARE Young Adult (TYA) for Surviving Children

Health coverage for survivors

A premium-based plan, with a Prime and a Select option, that an unmarried adult child of a deceased sponsor may purchase from age 21, or 23 if a full-time college student, until age 26.^{10, 11, 5}

Who qualifies: Not eligible for an employer plan through their job or otherwise for TRICARE; the sponsor was covered by TRICARE at death under active duty or retiree TRICARE, TRICARE Reserve Select, TRICARE Retired Reserve or the Transitional Assistance Management Program

Amount: $794 a month per individual for TYA-Prime and $363 for TYA-Select in 2026; all other TYA costs follow Group B costs

How to apply: Submit the regional DD Form 2947 with an initial payment of two months of premium, or purchase by phone through the regional contractor. Form DD Form 2947.

What happens to each matter2

Health coverage

Transitional survivors can also use programs specific to active duty, such as the Extended Care Health Option. Losing TRICARE eligibility also ends transitional survivor status.⁴

After the three-year transitional period, children's coverage does not change: they stay covered as active duty family members until they age out of TRICARE or lose eligibility for another reason.⁴

If the sponsor was covered by TRICARE Reserve Select on the day of death, survivors may qualify for its survivor coverage: up to three years if the sponsor died on or after Oct. 1, 2025, or up to six months if before that date.⁷

If the sponsor died while covered by the Transitional Assistance Management Program, survivors may stay covered by it until the end of the 180-day period.⁷

Surviving spouses lose TRICARE Dental Program eligibility after three years and can then get dental plans through the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program. Surviving children can stay enrolled until they lose TRICARE eligibility for other reasons.⁸

Surviving spouses keep TRICARE unless they remarry, and children stay covered until they age out, marry or lose eligibility for another reason.¹²

Unmarried children are eligible until age 21, or 23 if enrolled full time in higher education while the sponsor provides more than half their support. Children whose sponsor died on active duty stay eligible until they lose eligibility through age, marriage or another reason.¹³

A child does not qualify for TRICARE Young Adult if the sponsor was in the Selected Reserve or Retired Reserve, was eligible for TRICARE Reserve Select or TRICARE Retired Reserve, and had not purchased that plan.¹¹

Records the agency holds

DEERS, the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, is the database the Department of Defense uses to track eligibility for TRICARE, and every family member must be registered in it. A sponsor's death requires a DEERS update, which DMDC makes from Social Security or uniformed services data.¹⁴

What DHA's rules say5

Who reports the death

The family does not report the sponsor's death to DEERS: the Defense Manpower Data Center receives it from Social Security or the uniformed services and updates medical and dental coverage. The only report the family makes is to Express Scripts, the TRICARE pharmacy contractor.¹

Processing and payment

DMDC may take some time to receive the information. A copy of the death certificate taken to a Uniformed Services ID card office, or faxed or mailed to the DMDC/DEERS Support Office, speeds processing.¹

Remarriage

A surviving spouse who remarries loses TRICARE, unless the new spouse is an active duty or retired service member, which keeps eligibility through the new sponsor. The children's coverage continues up to the normal age limits.⁶

A surviving spouse who loses TRICARE through remarriage may enroll in CHCBP within 60 days for up to 36 months of bridge coverage.³

Fees

In Group A in 2026, other retiree-category beneficiaries pay a TRICARE Select enrollment fee of $186.96 individual or $375 family. Group B has no survivor carve-out: TRICARE Prime is $462.96 or $927, TRICARE Select $594.96 or $1,191, and the cap is $4,635.⁵

What the agency does and does not handle

TRICARE is the Defense Health Agency's civilian-network program for uniformed service members, retirees and their families. Surviving spouses and dependents of service members continue through TRICARE rather than VA healthcare, which is generally for veterans themselves.¹²

Forms DHA issues2

DD Form 2837: Continued Health Care Benefit Program (CHCBP) Application

Enrolls in CHCBP within 60 days of losing TRICARE eligibility. The completed application is mailed with the premium payment to Humana Military.^{15, 16}

Available to download.

DD Form 2947: TRICARE Young Adult Application

Purchases TRICARE Young Adult coverage for an unmarried adult child of a deceased sponsor. Separate East, West and Overseas versions are mailed or faxed to the regional contractor with two months of premium.¹⁷

Available to download.

Other agencies and offices involved6

Social Security Administration: Passes the death to the Defense Manpower Data Center, which updates TRICARE coverage¹
Humana Military: TRICARE East Region enrollment and plan changes, and the Continued Health Care Benefit Program^{18, 3}
Phone: 1-800-444-5445
Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-6:00 PM local time (ET and CT)
Mailing address: Humana Military, Attn: CHCBP, P.O. Box 740072, Louisville, KY 40201-7472
TriWest Healthcare Alliance: TRICARE West Region enrollment and plan changes¹⁸
Phone: 1-888-874-9378
Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-6:00 PM local time (excluding federal holidays)
International SOS Government Services, LLC: TRICARE Overseas enrollment and plan changes, on country-specific numbers¹⁸
Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Casualty assistance officer: Whether the sponsor was on active duty at death, which sets the survivor coverage rules¹
Department of Veterans Affairs: VA healthcare for veterans, and CHAMPVA for certain survivors of veterans who died of service-connected conditions¹²