Military Benefits Open Enrollment

Military benefits open enrollment, also known as open season, is an annual chance for those who use a variety of health and life insurance services to change their coverage or pick a new provider.

In the civilian world, open enrollment has been a regular event for decades. But the U.S. military and Department of Veteran Affairs only started holding open seasons in recent years as a way to expand coverage options while also managing how military members, retirees, veterans and their families move in and out of programs.

So which programs have open season or open enrollment periods? Here's what you need to know.

FEDVIP Open Enrollment

The Federal Employee Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) open enrollment season lets military retirees purchase optional dental and vision insurance while also allowing active-duty military families to access optional vision insurance. (Instead of FEDVIP, active-duty families can purchase dental coverage through Tricare.)

FEDVIP has long provided those insurance coverages for federal civilian employees. But starting in 2018, coverage became available for retirees and military families and a new law expanded vision insurance options for both user groups.

That means retirees and their families and active-duty military families can use FEDVIP to access coverages. For retirees, that means choosing through a marketplace system from several dental plans to find the coverage that best fits their needs. Those FEDVIP providers cover services such as exams, cleanings, X-rays, fillings and extractions as well as major services such as crowns and root canals. Some plans also cover orthodontics.

Vision coverage for retirees and active-duty families could cover routine eye exams, low vision exams, eyeglass frames, lenses and contact lenses. Users can leverage the marketplace to choose from about five different vision insurance providers and pick the plan that is best for them.

FEDVIP's open season allows new users to purchase coverage or existing users to change their coverage. FEDVIP's open season runs from Nov. 11 to Dec. 9 in 2024 for coverage in 2025.

Tricare Open Enrollment

Tricare's open enrollment period allows active-duty military family members and military retirees and their families an annual chance to change plans. Outside of Tricare's open season, those groups can change plans only if they experience one of the "qualifying life events" chosen by Tricare.

During Tricare's open enrollment, retirees and active-duty family users can swap between Tricare Prime and Tricare Select for any reason. Tricare open season typically runs from mid-November through mid-December, with changes taking effect Jan. 1. For 2025 coverage, Tricare's open enrollment was from Nov. 11 to Dec. 10, 2024.

Army 1st Lt. Courtney Arthur, a registered nurse, checks patient records in the intensive care unit of Guam Memorial Hospital (GMH).

Everything You Need to Know About Tricare Open Enrollment

What Is a Qualifying Life Event for Tricare?

Hospitalman Addis Murray takes retired senior chief Dennis Bennett’s blood pressure at Naval Hospital Jacksonville’s Family Medicine clinic. (U.S. Navy/Jacob Sippel)

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Medicare Open Enrollment

Tricare users over age 65 use the Tricare for Life plan and are required to enroll in Medicare Parts A and B. Since Tricare for Life is a Medicare wrap-around program that covers many costs Medicare does not, including prescription drugs, most military beneficiaries don't want or need to enroll in Medicare's Advantage program or Medicare Part D, which covers prescription drugs.

Generally speaking, Tricare's prescription drug coverage is a better deal than using Medicare Advantage or Medicare Part D. But that may not be true in every circumstance. Unlike Medicare Parts A and B, Advantage and Part D are managed by private health insurance companies. That means they also have open enrollment periods.

Medicare open enrollment for the Advantage and Part D programs happen annually each fall, typically between mid-October and mid-December. During that period, users can select a new Advantage or Part D carrier, or enroll for the first time.

Learn more about Medicare open enrollment.