Armed Forces News

Many beneficiaries of TRICARE, the Defense Department’s managed health-care plan, should expect to pay higher prices for prescription medications next year. The hikes, which take effect Feb. 1, will not affect active-duty service members. Also, the price for refills at military pharmacies for all beneficiaries would remain the same.

Beneficiaries who are not on active duty will pay more to have prescriptions refilled through retail pharmacies and home delivery.
For home delivery, beneficiaries who had previously made no copayments for 90-day supplies of generic medications on TRICARE’s formulary would pay $7. Brand-name medications obtained through mail order would increase to $24, up from $20. The cost for a 90-day supply of non-formulary medications without a determination of medical necessity, through mail order, would rise to $53, up from $49.

A 30-day supply of generic prescription medications on the TRICARE formulary that are obtained through retail pharmacies would rise to $11, up from $10. Formulary drugs would cost $28 at retail pharmacies, up from $24.

In some instances, survivors of active-duty service members could qualify for lower copayment rates. More information is available online at www.tricare.mil/pharmacycosts.