TRICARE cost calculator for retirees: what a year of Prime or Select might cost
How many times this year
| How it adds up | Prime | Select |
|---|
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TRICARE's published 2026 costs
| Prime | Select | |
|---|---|---|
| Enrollment fee, individual | $381.96 | $186.96 |
| Enrollment fee, family | $765 | $375 |
| Deductible, individual | $0 | $150 |
| Catastrophic cap, per family | $3,000 | $4,381 |
| Primary care visit | $26 | $38 |
| Specialty care visit | $39 | $52 |
| Urgent care | $39 | $38 |
| Emergency visit | $79 | $138 |
| Labs and X-rays | $0 | $0 |
| Ambulatory surgery | $79 | 20% |
| Hospital admission | $198 | $250 a day or up to 25% of hospital charges, whichever is less, plus 20% of separately billed services |
| Prime | Select | |
|---|---|---|
| Enrollment fee, individual | $462.96 | $594.96 |
| Enrollment fee, family | $927 | $1,191 |
| Deductible, individual | $0 | $198 |
| Catastrophic cap, per family | $4,635 | $4,635 |
| Primary care visit | $26 | $33 |
| Specialty care visit | $39 | $52 |
| Urgent care | $39 | $52 |
| Emergency visit | $79 | $105 |
| Labs and X-rays | $0 | $0 |
| Ambulatory surgery | $79 | $125 |
| Hospital admission | $198 | $231 |
| Generic | Brand name | Non-formulary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail network, up to 30 days | $16 | $48 | $85 |
| Home delivery, up to 90 days | $14 | $44 | $85 |
| Military pharmacy, up to 90 days | $0 | $0 | Generally not available without medical necessity |
How the estimate works
The usage profiles and assumed charges are the ones our FEHB comparison uses: $150 for a primary care visit, $250 specialist, $200 urgent care, $1,500 emergency room, $100 labs, $1,200 for a scan, $2,000 outpatient surgery, $18,000 a hospital stay, and $4,000 for an inpatient surgeon. The charges only matter under Select before the deductible is met, and where TRICARE charges a percentage. Copays are TRICARE's. The counts describe one person's year, and a hospital stay runs 5 days unless you enter your own.
TRICARE defines the deductible as what you pay before cost-sharing begins, so under Select the first charges count toward it in full. The catastrophic cap counts enrollment fees, deductibles, copayments, and pharmacy copayments, so the year total never goes above it. TRICARE: cost terms.
Group A means your sponsor's first enlistment or appointment was before January 1, 2018. Group B means on or after that date. TRICARE: health plan costs.
Non-network care and Prime's point-of-service fees. Whether Prime is offered where you live: it is only in Prime Service Areas. Whether your doctors take either plan. Medically retired sponsors, their families, and survivors, who pay less than this table. Under-65 retirees with Medicare Part A and Part B, whose Group A Prime fee is waived. A year spent on TRICARE For Life at 65 is a different cost: see the planner.
Before you decide
TRICARE and your regional contractor decide coverage and claims. The fine print lives at tricare.mil and with your contractor, and they control. These are estimates under the assumptions above, not a quote and not a prediction of what you will spend. It shows cost only. It does not say which plan fits you. See Full disclosures.
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Sources
Read October 31, 2026. TRICARE: health plan costs (updated September 24, 2026), pharmacy costs (2026 and 2027), cost terms, retiring, Open Season, retirees and family members.
