Health Benefits for Service Members, Military Spouses and their Children
In a divorce, it is usually best if the military member provides health insurance for the child or children of the parties. TRICARE insurance can be provided for a fraction of the cost of private insurance policies. Also, the military provides lifelong health benefits for service members who commit at least 20 years to the service. Military spouses also benefit from TRICARE for life if they qualify under what is known as the 20/20/20 rule; that is, where the service member served 20 years, the marriage lasted at least 20 years and the duration of the marriage overlapped the service period by at least 20 years.
Transitional Health Coverage is available to a military spouse if the service member served 20 years, the marriage lasted 20 years, but the period of the marriage overlapping the period of service was only 15 -19 years (20/20/15). Here, the military spouse is entitled to full military medical benefits (so long as they do not remarry or enroll in a health insurance plan through employment), for a transitional period. After that, the military spouse may purchase a DOD-negotiated conversion health policy.
If the military spouse does not meet the requirements of either transitional health coverage or full coverage, military health coverage will terminate upon divorce. The military spouse will be given the opportunity to participate in a DOD Continued Health Care Benefit Program. The program will require payment of a premium and it will provide temporary health care coverage for up to 36 months if enrollment is accomplished within 60 days of losing full military health benefits.