$202.90 a month. The TRICARE for Life Part B requirement comes down to one payment, and skipping it ends your coverage.
Skip Medicare Part B and TRICARE for Life disappears. Not next month. Not after a warning letter. The same day.
One career military officer skipped it. He served 24 years. He retired at 44. He had TRICARE Prime the whole time. At 65 he looked at the Part B premium, thought about two decades in uniform, and said no.
It cost him his TRICARE for Life. It cost him a 40% penalty for the rest of his life. And it cost him a heart attack with almost no coverage.
Here is what happened, and here is how to make sure it never happens to you.
What Does Medicare Part A Cover Without Medicare Part B?
Medicare Part A is free for most military retirees. And Part A covers the hospital room, but nothing more.
So Part A does not cover the doctors who treat you in that room. Instead, those doctors bill Medicare Part B. The blood tests, the imaging, the lab work. Part B. Every cardiologist, every surgeon, every specialist. Part B.
Because of how Part A works, in 2026 you owe a $1,736 inpatient hospital deductible for each benefit period before Part A pays a single dollar. And if your stay runs past 60 days, you owe $434 per day for days 61 through 90.
Part A without Part B is a hospital with a hole in it.
When Does TRICARE Prime Become TRICARE for Life?
If you are a military retiree under 65, you have TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Select. On the first day of your 65th birthday month, TRICARE transitions you to TRICARE for Life.
TRICARE for Life is one of the strongest health benefits in the country. Because TRICARE for Life wraps around Medicare, it picks up deductibles, copays, and coinsurance. So your out-of-pocket costs drop close to zero.
Here is the trap. TRICARE for Life requires Medicare. Not part of Medicare. At least Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B, active and current.
The TRICARE for Life Part B rule bends for nobody. Not for rank. Not for years of service.
Is the TRICARE for Life Part B Requirement Federal Law?
The TRICARE for Life Part B requirement is not a policy. It is federal regulation. 32 CFR § 199.17.
The regulation reads: “when a retiree or retiree family member becomes individually eligible for Medicare Part A and enrolls in Medicare Part B, he/she is automatically eligible for TRICARE-for-Life.”
Source: 32 CFR § 199.17
TRICARE’s own website confirms it: “If you have Medicare Part A, you must also have Medicare Part B to remain eligible for TRICARE.”
Source: TRICARE.mil
So at least Part A and Part B. Skip Part B and TRICARE for Life disappears.
Part B keeps TRICARE alive. Part C makes Medicare work harder for you.
How Much Does Medicare Part B Cost in 2026?
Meeting the TRICARE for Life Part B requirement costs $202.90 a month in 2026. The standard Medicare Part B premium. Over a year, about $2,435 comes out of your pocket.
You served 20 years or more. Somebody told you health care would be handled. Now they want $202.90 a month.
And that is the part making career military retirees angry. Rightfully so.
Before you react, read the next two sections. There is language on Page 11 of the Medicare handbook changing this entire equation.
What Is the Medicare Part B Late Enrollment Penalty?
Miss your Initial Enrollment Period and ignore the TRICARE for Life Part B requirement for one full year, and you face a Medicare Part B penalty of 10% on your premium. Every year you delay adds another 10%.
As a result, the Medicare Part B penalty follows you for life.
And those numbers assume the premium never goes up. But the premium goes up almost every year. So the premium rises. Then the Medicare Part B penalty rises with it. A double whammy.
How Much Did You Pay Into Medicare Through FICA?
You remember the FICA box on your pay stubs. That money funded Medicare. Every paycheck. Military service, civilian jobs, it did not matter. FICA came out.
If you earned $50,000 a year on average over a 40-year career, you paid about $58,000 into Medicare through FICA. If you earned more, you paid more.
So you already bought this. Now the question is whether you use it.
What Does Page 11 of the Medicare Handbook Say About Your Part B Premium?
On Page 11 of the 2026 Medicare and You handbook, Medicare says this about Medicare Part C plans: “Some plans may have a $0 premium and may help pay all or part of your Part B premium.”
Medicare’s own handbook. Let me break it down.
$0 premium. Medicare rules allow Part C plans to have a monthly premium as low as $0. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 67% of Medicare Advantage plans with prescription drug coverage charge no premium in 2026 other than the Medicare Part B premium.
Source: KFF Medicare Advantage 2026 Spotlight
“May help pay all or part of your Part B premium.” Medicare’s own language. Options exist for your Part B premium.
Do You Need Medicare Part A and Part B to Enroll in Part C?
Here is what you need to know before you go looking.
To be eligible for Part C, you must have Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B. You cannot skip Part B and enroll in Part C. Part A and Part B are the foundation.
Skipping Part B does not save you money. Instead, skipping Part B locks you out of the one thing helping with your Part B premium in the first place.
Does TRICARE for Life Work With Medicare Part C?
Military retirees need to hear this next part.
TRICARE for Life wraps around Part C the same way TRICARE for Life wraps around Original Medicare. Nothing about your TRICARE benefit changes.
And the TRICARE for Life Part B requirement does not go away when you add Part C. So Part B stays. And TRICARE for Life stays.
And Part C plans are not allowed to change your VA health benefits in any way. If you have VA health care, your VA benefits stay exactly the same.
What Do the VA, Original Medicare, and TRICARE for Life Not Cover?
Does the VA cover routine dental? Unless you have a 100% rating, no. Vision? Sometimes. Hearing? Sometimes. And most veterans do not have a 100% rating.
TRICARE for Life does not cover routine dental, vision, or hearing. Original Medicare does not cover routine dental, vision, or hearing either.
What about a gym membership? An over-the-counter allowance? None of them provide those.
And none of them pay any part of your Part B premium on your behalf.
Medicare Advantage, also called Part C, is allowed to provide benefits going beyond what the VA, Original Medicare, and TRICARE for Life provide on their own.
Benefits and costs vary by county and plan.
If your income pushes your Part B premium above the standard amount, run the numbers with our IRMAA calculator.
What Happens When a Military Retiree Skips Medicare Part B?
Back to the officer.
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24 years in the military. Retired at 44. TRICARE Prime the entire time. He ignored the TRICARE for Life Part B requirement at 65.
At 65 he needed Medicare Part A and Part B to keep TRICARE for Life. He knew about Part A. Part A was free. But Part B cost $202.90 a month. After 20 years of service, he said no.
So for four years he had no TRICARE for Life. But he did not realize it. He thought he was still covered.
Then at 69 he had a heart attack.
TRICARE for Life was gone. No wraparound coverage. He paid nearly the whole bill himself. All he had was free Part A.
And he found out how little Part A covers alone. First, a $1,736 deductible before Medicare paid anything. $434 a day in coinsurance for every hospital day past 60. No coverage for the doctors treating him. No coverage for the follow-up care.
When he finally enrolled in Part B, he faced a 40% Medicare Part B penalty. 10% for each year he skipped. His Part B premium went from $202.90 to $284.06 a month.
And that extra $81.16 a month is every month, for life. So $973.92 a year in penalties alone. Over 20 years, nearly $19,500 in penalties on top of the regular premium.
And those numbers assume the premium never rises. It rises almost every year.
His VA benefits did not change. They never do. Medicare Advantage is not allowed to affect your VA health benefits.
Do Military Retirees With TRICARE for Life Need a Medicare Supplement?
Here is a different kind of loss, and it happens to military retirees who did everything right.
A generic Medicare advisor who does not understand TRICARE for Life sells a military retiree a Medicare supplement policy. Plan G. Plan N. Those run $150 a month or more.
A Medicare supplement with TRICARE for Life already in place is money spent twice.
$1,800 a year. Over 20 years, $36,000.
For coverage the retiree already has.
Because TRICARE for Life is already your supplement, TRICARE for Life covers your Medicare deductibles, copays, and coinsurance. So a Medicare supplement with TRICARE for Life underneath adds nothing TRICARE for Life does not already do.
$36,000 wasted.
Part B keeps TRICARE alive. Part C makes Medicare work harder for you.
Three Military Retirees, Three Different Medicare Outcomes
Same 20-plus years of service. Three different outcomes.
Retiree One skipped Part B to save $202.90 a month. So TRICARE for Life disappeared. But he did not know it. He had a heart attack with almost no coverage. Only Part A. A big deductible. No doctor coverage. No follow-up coverage. And he now pays a 40% Medicare Part B penalty for life. While the premium goes up, the penalty goes up with it.
Retiree Two kept Part B and kept TRICARE for Life. But then a generic advisor sold him a Medicare supplement with TRICARE for Life already covering the same costs. He pays $150 a month for coverage TRICARE for Life already provides. $36,000 over 20 years, wasted. And he pays full price for Part B because nobody told him about Page 11.
Retiree Three met the TRICARE for Life Part B requirement. He kept Part B. He kept TRICARE for Life. Explored the Part C options in his county. TRICARE for Life wraps around his Part C plan. He has coverage for things the VA, Original Medicare, and TRICARE for Life do not provide. He is not overpaying for his Medicare Part B premium. His VA benefits did not change.
Same service. Same sacrifice. Three completely different outcomes.
Which retiree are you going to be?
How Do Military Retirees Enroll in Medicare Part B on Time?
Know your window. If you are approaching 65, you have a seven-month window around your birthday to enroll without penalties. Three months before your birth month, your birth month, and three months after. And if you miss that window, penalties follow you for life. No reset button.
Know your enrollment status. If you have drawn Social Security for four months or longer, Medicare enrolls you in Part A and Part B automatically. The Part B premium comes out of your monthly Social Security benefit. Every form you need sits in our Medicare forms library for veterans.
Meet the TRICARE for Life Part B requirement. Keep Medicare Part B. Keep TRICARE for Life. Then look at what is available in your county and make sure you are not overpaying for your Medicare Part B premium.
Medicare Costs for Military Retirees in 2026: Quick Reference
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Every number below sits behind the TRICARE for Life Part B requirement.
| Item | 2026 Amount |
|---|---|
| Standard Medicare Part B premium | $202.90 per month |
| Annual Part B cost | $2,434.80 |
| Part B annual deductible | $283 |
| Part A inpatient hospital deductible | $1,736 per benefit period |
| Part A coinsurance, days 61 to 90 | $434 per day |
| Part A coinsurance, lifetime reserve days | $868 per day |
| Part B late enrollment penalty | 10% for each full 12 months delayed, permanent |
| Four-year penalty example | Premium rises from $202.90 to $284.06 |
| MA-PD plans with no premium beyond Part B (KFF) | 67% |
| Initial Enrollment Period | 7 months around your 65th birthday |
Sources: CMS 2026 Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles, KFF Medicare Advantage 2026 Spotlight
Watch: TRICARE for Life and Medicare Part B Explained
The full video sits at the top of this page. Watch it on YouTube for the complete breakdown of the career officer’s story and the three retirees.
Read Medicare for Veterans: The Complete Field Guide Free
I wrote Medicare for Veterans: The Complete Field Guide. You can read it free at freevetsbook.com or buy a copy on Amazon.
You earned Medicare. Part B keeps TRICARE alive. Part C makes Medicare work harder for you.
Official Sources on TRICARE for Life and Medicare
- 32 CFR § 199.17: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/32/199.17
- TRICARE Medicare Eligibility: https://tricare.mil/Plans/Eligibility/MedicareEligible
- Medicare & You 2026 Handbook: https://www.medicare.gov/publications/10050-medicare-and-you.pdf
- CMS 2026 Premiums and Deductibles: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2026-medicare-parts-b-premiums-deductibles
- KFF Medicare Advantage 2026 Spotlight: https://www.kff.org/medicare/medicare-advantage-2026-spotlight-a-first-look-at-plan-premiums-and-benefits/
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with or endorsed by Social Security, Medicare, the VA, TRICARE, or any government agency. Nor would I want to be.
This is general education, not personal advice. Benefits and costs vary by county and plan. Always review your own situation before making changes.
Chris Duncan | Certified Medicare Insurance Planner™ | Retirement Income Certified Professional® | We Speak Veteran®
Call 888-960-VETS (8387)
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