Editor’s note: This article was updated Nov. 1 with Defense Health Agency’s response to questions about what happens to the rates after Feb. 28.
Tricare dental premiums will decrease slightly for the next four months, bringing modest savings for military families at a time when some are feeling the squeeze of rising consumer costs.
The new monthly premiums, effective Nov. 1 to Feb. 28, 2025, vary based on the sponsor’s status and the enrollment type, with reductions ranging from $0.26 to $3 a month.
Active duty family members, National Guard and Reserve members and their family members are eligible for the Tricare Dental Program, a voluntary plan separate from Tricare medical coverage. The program is administered by United Concordia.
At the time of this article’s original publication Thursday, information was not immediately available from Defense Health Agency officials about what would happen to rates after Feb. 28.
On Friday, Defense Health Agency spokesman Brenda Campbell told Military Times that a new Tricare Dental Program contract begins March 1. The premium rates under the new contract will be posted soon after the beginning of 2025. Starting March 1, rates will change on that date each year and be effective until the last day of February the following year.
The current dental plan premium rates have been in effect since May 1, 2023.
Tricare Dental Program rates “change periodically,” said Douglas Elsesser, a program analyst with the Dental Program Section of Tricare at the Defense Health Agency, in a DHA announcement of the rate decreases. “This helps premiums stay current with the market while maintaining affordable coverage for you and your family.”
Military families pay the premiums monthly for the next month’s coverage. In addition to the premiums, there are cost-shares for certain dental services, which have remained the same.
Tricare dental premium rates effective Nov. 1 through Feb. 28, 2025:
Active duty:
- Sponsor only: Not applicable, as dental benefits are provided through Active Duty Dental Program
- One family member: $12.10; decrease of $0.26 from $12.36
- More than one family member: $31.46; decrease of $0.67 from $32.13
Selected Reserve and Individual Ready Reserve (mobilization)
- Sponsor only: $12.10; decrease of $0.26 from $12.36
- Single (one family member, doesn’t include sponsor): $30.25; decrease of $0.64 from $30.89, according to the Tricare website
- Family (more than one family member, doesn’t include sponsor): $78.64; decrease of $1.69 from $80.33
- Sponsor and family: $90.74; decrease of $1.95 from $92.69
Individual Ready Reserve (non-mobilization)
- Sponsor only: $30.25; decrease of $0.64 from $30.89
- Single: $30.25; decrease of $0.64 from $30.89
- Family: $78.64; decrease of $2.19 from $80.83
- Sponsor and family: $108.89; decrease of $3 from $111.89
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
