Editor’s Note: This article is part of MOAA’s 2026-27 TRICARE Guide, brought to you by MOAA Insurance Plans, administered by Association Member Benefits Advisors (AMBA). A version of the guide appeared in the November 2026 issue of Military Officer magazine.  

TRICARE For Life (TFL) is a valuable medical benefit for U.S. military retirees and their eligible family members, including survivors. This program works with Medicare to provide comprehensive coverage, saving the cost of a Medicare drug plan, eliminating the need for a TRICARE supplement, and paying most costs left over after Medicare. For many military retirees, TFL is a vital part of their overall military retirement benefits.

However, this important coverage didn’t always exist.

As we reflect on the 25th anniversary of TFL, it is helpful to remember that the program exists largely because of one retired Air Force colonel. His fight over what happens to TRICARE coverage when a retiree or their family member turns 65 brought national attention to a real gap in military benefits, ultimately resulting in the program we have today.

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The story starts in 1956, when Congress passed the Dependents’ Medical Care Act of 1956. This law was intended to “create and maintain high morale throughout the uniformed services by providing an improved and uniform program of medical care for members of the uniformed services and their dependents.”

Prior to this law, retirees and their dependents frequently received medical care from military treatment facilities (MTFs) on a space-available basis, but there was nothing requiring MTFs to treat anyone beyond active duty members. The act made this law, while also adding coverage for civilian care.

Nearly a decade later, the federal government established Medicare, followed by the creation of the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) to support civilian medical care for retirees and dependents when they could not be accommodated within the military system. This fee-for-service option was not free, but it provided health care coverage for those who could not access MTFs due to availability or location.

CHAMPUS eventually evolved into TRICARE; however, neither of their coverage included Medicare-eligible retirees and family members.

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For decades, beneficiaries lost their military medical coverage when they became eligible for Medicare, usually at age 65. Many of those retirees were angry, believing they had been promised health care for life by recruiters, and some felt the contract they had made with the military wasn’t being honored.

Retiree groups rallied against this for years, but the person who turned that broken promise into a national reckoning was Col. George “Bud” Day. Day was a Medal of Honor recipient and a POW from the Vietnam War who spent more than five years in captivity alongside fellow POW John McCain. After retiring to Florida and becoming a lawyer, Day was turned away from the hospital at Eglin AFB due to his age. In 1996, he sued the federal government, arguing it had made a clear, binding offer of lifetime care that retirees accepted through their service, and that Congress had no right to renege on it after the fact.

The case was complicated. There were back-and-forth rulings for several years, and these court cases brought more attention to the issue.

While the case wound its way through the courts, Congress took action.

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The FY 2001 National Defense Authorization Act created a new type of coverage, called TRICARE For Life. This plan works as a Medicare wraparound: Medicare pays first, and TFL covers the deductibles, coinsurance, and cost sharing required of Medicare recipients. This includes the large deductible for hospitalizations, and the 20% copayment for regular medical care.

TFL itself has no enrollment fees, premiums, deductibles, or copayments.

Importantly for many retirees, the program acts as primary coverage for care received overseas that is ineligible for Medicare payment.

To be eligible for TFL, the beneficiary must be enrolled in Medicare parts A and B. This includes paying the required Medicare premiums, even if they live outside of the U.S. and won’t use it.

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There is no enrollment or application for TFL. The coverage begins automatically when a beneficiary is eligible, though they will likely need to get a new military identification card after turning 65.

TFL represents a real value to military retirees and family members, reducing total out-of-pocket costs for health care through payments for deductibles, copayments, and overseas coverage.Many TFL members report paying little to no health care costs after both programs pay their share.

More than two decades after its creation, TFL remains largely untouched by the periodic overhauls to the rest of TRICARE. During this time, MOAA’s sustained advocacy efforts have helped protect the program from changes that would increase costs for retirees, including the addition of enrollment fees.