Q. Is it within the rules to drop the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan and start Tricare Prime when I turn 60? I am an eligible National Guard retiree with 30-plus years. Tricare Prime is a fraction of the cost of my FEHB HMO.
A. Yes. According to the Office of Personnel Management, Tricare- and CHAMPVA-eligible FEHB Program annuitants, survivors and former spouses may suspend their FEHB enrollments, and then return to the FEHB Program during the open season, or return to FEHB coverage immediately if they involuntarily lose this non-FEHB coverage. This allows eligible beneficiaries to avoid the expense of continuing to pay FEHB premiums while they are using the non-FEHB coverage, without endangering their ability to return to the FEHB Program in the future.
