Qualifying Life Events

When life changes for you and your family, your TRICARE^® health plan options may also change.

These changes are known as Qualifying Life Events (QLEs).

QLEs are certain changes in your or a family member’s life, such as marriage, birth of a child, or retirement from active duty, which allow you to make some changes to your TRICARE enrollment or coverage. QLEs open a 90-day period for you to make eligible changes. A QLE for one family member allows all family members to make these changes.

Depending on your eligibility, a QLE may allow you and your family to:

• Enroll in a new TRICARE health plan. 
• Change your health plan coverage.

If you want to enroll in or change your health plan, you must:

• Update DEERS with the QLE. 
• Make the enrollment changes within 90 days following the QLE.
• Pay any enrollment fees or premiums due during that period.

No matter when you initiate the enrollment change following a QLE, coverage changes start on the date of the QLE.

Qualifying Life Events: Examples & Steps to Follow

Examples of Qualifying Life Events (QLEs) include:

• Change in sponsor’s military status that ends eligibility to continue current coverage (retiring from active duty, activating, deactivating)

• Family changes (marriage, divorce or annulment, birth or adoption of a child, placement of a child by a court in a member’s home, children becoming adults, death in family)

• Moving (change of address, relocation to a new country, city, region, or zip, child moving away to college)

• Government-directed changes

• Change in eligibility status of any single family member in another family (In cases where both parents are sponsors, change in eligibility status for either member of a joint service family)

• Losing or gaining other health insurance

With any QLE, the first step is to update your or your family member's information in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS).

Once your change shows in DEERS, you may make any eligible enrollment change by calling the US Family Health Plan. 

TRICARE Open Season—Making Enrollment Changes When You Haven’t Experienced a QLE

If you and your family haven’t experienced a QLE, you can enroll in or make changes to your health plan during TRICARE Open Season. Open Season occurs each fall, beginning on the Monday of the second full week in November to the Monday of the second full week in December.

OPEN SEASON 2023 Dates: November 13 – December 12

Visit our Help me Understand TRICARE Prime page to learn more.

Currently Enrolled in TRICARE Prime^®

If you’re enrolled in TRICARE Prime, you can switch to the Martin’s Point US Family Health Plan at any time of the year.