Last Chance: TRICARE, Federal Benefits Open Season Ends Monday

FALLS CHURCH, Virginia, Dec. 7 -- Defense Health Agency issued the following news release:

Open season ends next week. The deadline is Monday, Dec. 10, 2018 for both TRICARE Open Season and Federal Benefits Open Season. Your new enrollment or plan changes will take effect on Jan. 1, 2019. There's a separate enrollment process for each open season.

TRICARE Open Season Enrollment

TRICARE Open Season is for enrollment in a TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Select health plan. This includes making a change from one plan to the other. If you're enrolled in a TRICARE health plan and don't want to make any changes, you don't have to do anything.

There are three ways to enroll in TRICARE Prime and TRICARE Select:

* Online: Go to the Beneficiary Web Enrollment website (Stateside only). Click on the red "Log On" link at the top of the page. Once logged in, select the "Medical" tab to enroll in a health plan.

* By phone: Call your TRICARE regional contractor.

TRICARE East: 1-800-444-5445

TRICARE West: 1-844-866-9378

US Family Health Plan: 1-800-748-7347

Overseas: Call your TRICARE Overseas Program Regional Call Center.

* By mail: Send your enrollment form for the plan you want to enroll in to your regional contractor.

Federal Benefits Open Season Enrollment

Federal Benefits Open Season is for vision coverage or retiree dental coverage through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP). The TRICARE Retiree Dental Program (TRDP), provided by Delta Dental, ends on Dec. 31, 2018. If you have TRDP and want dental coverage in 2019, you'll need to choose a FEDVIP dental plan. Enrollment isn't automatic.

Eligibility for FEDVIP vision coverage includes retirees, retiree family members, and active duty family members.

To enroll in FEDVIP, visit www.benefeds.com. There are four steps to enroll:

1. Verify your eligibility.

2. Create a My BENEFEDS account.

3. Compare, select, and enroll in a plan for you and/or your family. There are three enrollment types (self only, self plus one, and self and family).

4. Confirm your plan choice.

Both open seasons end on Dec. 10, 2018. Enroll today to ensure you have the coverage you want in 2019. You can stay updated on all changes about your TRICARE health, dental, and vision plans at TRICARE Changes.