Family members of active-duty troops who live far from military hospitals or clinics will no longer pay a copayment for covered prescriptions starting Feb. 28.

“Now, active-duty family members living far from a military hospital or clinic and enrolled in” Tricare Prime Remote “won’t pay copayments for covered drugs,” Teisha Robertson, chief of the Defense Health Agency’s pharmacy integration branch, said in a Tricare news release. “This change will help military families without access to military pharmacies keep their pharmacy costs down.”

There were 166,972 beneficiaries enrolled in the Tricare Prime Remote plan at the end of fiscal year 2023, according to the Tricare annual report for fiscal year 2024. Active-duty family members compose nearly one-fifth of Military Health System beneficiaries during fiscal year 2024, according to the Congressional Research Service.

To be eligible for free covered prescriptions, family members must be enrolled in Tricare Prime Remote, which requires a sponsor’s home and work addresses to be more than 50 miles or a one-hour drive away from a military hospital or clinic, according to a Tricare webpage.

Covered prescriptions for the copayment waiver include generic drugs, brand-name drugs and higher cost drugs when providers can establish a medical necessity for the medication, according to the news release.

Through the waiver, military families will save $16 for generic drugs and $48 for brand-name drugs for a 30-day supply from a retail network pharmacy. Families will save $14 for generic drugs and $44 for brand name drugs for a home delivery of a 90-day supply of their medication, according to a Tricare webpage on 2026 pharmacy costs.

The price change will take place automatically and family members do not need to file claims for reimbursement, according to the release. Family members can get their prescriptions at a retail network pharmacy or through home delivery. They will still be responsible for the full cost of non-covered drugs.

To find a nearby retail network pharmacy, click here.