TRICARE Young Adult Costs Are Forcing Hard Choices: Congress Can Fix It

As TRICARE Open Season begins, many families are weighing their coverage options. But for thousands of military-connected young adults and their parents, Open Season is little more than a reminder of a painful reality: their children don’t get the same protection that their civilian counterparts do.

While civilian families can keep their dependents on their health insurance until age 26, military families face a hard cutoff at 21 or 23 if their child is a full-time student. After that, the only TRICARE option is TRICARE Young Adult (TYA); a plan whose premiums have skyrocketed more than 280 percent since 2015.

To add insult to injury, TYA will now cost $794 per month for TYA Prime and $363 per month for TYA Select beginning January 1, 2026.

These are not small annual increases. They are life-altering financial blows and families from every branch of service are telling us exactly what that looks like.

Military Families Speak Out

“These young adults don’t deserve this.” – Air Force family

One Air Force family watched their 23-year-old lose TRICARE coverage in September, just months before graduating college.

Their middle daughter, a tattoo artist, never qualified for the student exception, and was dropped at 21. She now pays over $700 a month for TYA coverage, which is more than her rent. Her mom told us:

“When I know if she wasn’t paying $700 a month for insurance she wouldn’t have had to work two jobs and have had a mental breakdown from the stress. These young adults don’t deserve this.”

Military kids grow up serving, too. They move repeatedly, start over again and again, and still fight to build a future. Yet many are punished with unaffordable health insurance premiums at the very moment they’re trying to launch their adult lives.

“How is this right?” – Army spouse

Another Army spouse shared that her daughter was cut off TRICARE at 21 because she wasn’t enrolled full-time. “We can’t afford TRICARE Young Adult, and the Affordable Care Act is about to be gutted. Here we are, 25 years of service, and we can’t afford our 22-year-old’s health insurance. The law for the ACA is 26 but not for the government. How is this right?”

It’s not right. It’s not fair. And it’s certainly not what military-connected families deserve.

Families Are Being Forced Into Impossible Situations

For many, the financial strain is so intense that they are delaying education, skipping necessary medical care, or going without coverage entirely.

A retired Marine shared that he had to purchase a separate insurance plan, over $500 a month, just to ensure his 21-year-old son remained covered.

Another parent, a retired Air Force veteran, said her daughter wants to gain work experience before applying to graduate school, but will be unable to afford healthcare. “She has been a military child all her life. She will soon have her degree but would like to take a gap year to gain experience. She will be unable to afford her healthcare if she is no longer eligible. Please consider pushing through eligibility until age 26.”

These stories all point to the same truth: military families are being inadvertently punished with higher healthcare costs simply because they’ve served.

“My children should not be punished.” – Greg P., retired Navy

Greg served 24 years in the Navy. Now, as a retiree, he’s watching his own children face impossible costs that civilian families never encounter.

“My children should not be punished in TRICARE Young Adult health care premium costs because of my military service.” Upon learning about a potential legislative fix, Greg said, “This change  would provide stability during a critical life stage for dependent military children aged 22-25.”

Greg is right. At a time when young adults are finishing school, building careers, or transitioning into independence, healthcare shouldn’t be the barrier that derails their future.

A Simple Fix Exists and Congress Must Act

The Health Care Fairness for Military Families Act (H.R. 4768 / S. 2448) would finally align TRICARE with civilian healthcare standards by allowing military-connected young adults to stay on their parents’ plan until age 26.

This is not a new or radical idea. It is already the standard across America through the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

From the Air Force spouse whose daughter suffered a breakdown from unmanageable premiums to the Marine veteran paying for two insurance plans at once, every story we’ve heard shows why this change is urgently needed.

Military families have carried this burden long enough, and Congress has the power to fix it now.

Take Action

Join us in asking Congress to support the Health Care Fairness for Military Families Act. You can help make this change possible by sharing your experience and urging lawmakers to stand with military families.

Your voice can help ensure no young adult dependent is forced into debt or forced to go without coverage, simply because their family serves.

We’ve made it easy to contact your elected officials. Send a pre-drafted letter through our Military Family Action Center and it will automatically be sent to your members of Congress.

When military families speak up, change happens. Your voice can help ensure every young adult dependent gets the care they deserve. Let’s push for fairness, protect our families, and remind Congress that together we’re stronger.