Tricare Reserve Select premiums decrease in 2009 Published Nov. 25, 2008 WASHINGTON -- Air Force reservists and their families will soon be able to buy more affordable Tricare health care coverage. Effective Jan. 1, 2009, Tricare will reduce monthly Tricare Reserve Select premiums for individuals by 44 percent, from $81 to $47.51, and TRS family coverage will drop 29 percent, from $253 to $180.17. The 2009 National Defense Authorization Act directed Tricare to analyze TRS costs from 2006 and 2007, and to set new rates for 2009. "Now that TRS has been in place for several years, we were able to calculate premiums for 2009 from actual cost data obtained in earlier years," said Army Maj. Gen. Elder Granger, deputy director of Tricare Management Activity. "It is important to provide high quality and affordable healthcare coverage for our National Guard and Reserve families." Established in 2005, TRS is a premium-based health plan that members of the Selected Reserve can purchase if they are not eligible for or enrolled in Federal Employee Health Benefit plans. The plan provides a health care option for Selected Reserve members when they are not on active duty status. The plan delivers coverage similar to Tricare Standard and Extra to eligible members who purchase the coverage and pay monthly premiums. It also features continuously open enrollment. "It's an excellent health care option we are proud to offer," said General Granger. Reservists can determine their eligibility, qualify for, or purchase the TRS through the Guard and Reserve Web Portal or by logging onto https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/esgr/logonAction.do and selecting the "Tricare Reserve Select Website" link. More information about TRS is available on the Tricare Web site at http://www.tricare.mil (Air Force Reserve Command News Service)