TRICARE Young Adult Premiums for 2027: $394 a Month for Select, $893 for Prime, Priced Against Your Basic Pay

An adult child on TRICARE Young Adult-Prime will cost $893 a month starting January 1, 2027, up from $794. TRICARE Young Adult-Select goes to $394, up from $363. Both figures are settled: they sit in Figure 25.A-1 of the TRICARE Operations Manual, Chapter 25, Addendum A, "Added in Revision 63, August 19, 2026," on the authority of a Health Affairs memorandum dated July 7, 2026. What is not posted yet is the tricare.mil costs page, which still reads "All costs are for calendar year 2026, unless noted," and the 2027 deductibles and caps that TYA members pay on top of the premium.

What the two plans cost in 2027

Select rises 8.5% and Prime rises 12.5%. Over twelve months, Select costs $4,728 and Prime costs $10,716, before a single copay. The manual is explicit that "Premiums are not credited to deductibles or catastrophic caps," so the premium is money spent whether or not your child sees a doctor.

Since 2016 the Prime premium has nearly tripled, from $306 to $893 (up 191.8%), while Select is up 72.8%. The reason is in the statute. 10 U.S.C. 1110b(c)(2) sets the monthly premium at "the amount equal to the cost of such coverage that the Secretary determines on an appropriate actuarial basis." Other TRICARE fees track the retiree cost of living adjustment; TYA premiums track what the young adults on the plan actually cost to cover.

What a year of TYA costs against basic pay, by rank

A child aged 21 to 25 usually has a sponsor well into a career, so the table uses mid- and senior-career grades. Each row divides one young adult's 2027 annual premium by twelve months of the grade's 2026 basic pay from the DFAS table. The 2027 pay raise is not in these figures; our 2027 pay chart tracks it.

For an E-6 over 16, one child on Prime costs a little more than two months of basic pay a year. For an O-5 over 20, the same premium is less than one month. Look up your own row with the basic pay calculator and your full cash compensation with the RMC calculator.

There is no family rate

Paragraph 2.1 of the manual reads: "TYA offers individual coverage only." A separate monthly premium is charged "for each young adult family member even if there is more than one qualified family member" in the sponsor's family. Two adult children on Prime means two premiums.

Whether Select is cheaper overall depends on how much care the child uses. Under Select, cost-shares follow the plan the sponsor's status allows: an active duty sponsor's child pays the active duty family member amounts, a retiree's child pays retiree amounts (paragraph 2.1.1).

Who can buy it

TYA covers an adult child who has aged out of regular TRICARE at 21, or at 23 if a full-time student more than half supported by the sponsor. Under 10 U.S.C. 1110b(b) and paragraph 3.4 of the manual, the young adult must be under 26, unmarried, not a member of the uniformed services, and "not eligible to enroll in an eligible employer-sponsored plan." The test is whether the job offers a plan, not whether the child enrolls in it.

• Active duty sponsor: the child can buy TYA until the sponsor's date of separation or age 26, whichever comes first (paragraph 3.5.2).
• Retired sponsor: until age 26 (paragraph 3.5.4). Plan the move at retirement with the final pay calculator and the High-3 calculator.
• Guard or Reserve sponsor: only while the sponsor is enrolled in TRICARE Reserve Select or Retired Reserve. If the sponsor stops paying TRS or TRR, the child loses TYA on the same date (paragraph 3.5.6).
• Dental is not included. The TRICARE Dental Program ends at 21 (23 for a student), and TYA does not restore it (paragraph 1.2).

The payment rules that cost money

TYA does not wait for open season. Paragraph 4.2 says a qualified young adult "may purchase TYA coverage throughout the year unless locked out," with coverage starting the day the contractor receives a complete request or up to 90 days later. Starting coverage requires "an initial payment equal to two months of premium": $1,786 for Prime or $788 for Select in 2027, plus a recurring card or bank draft for later months.

Missing a payment is expensive. The contractor terminates coverage if the premium "is not received by the last day of the month following the due date," retroactive to the last paid-through date, and a lockout "shall remain in effect for 12 months after the last paid-through date" (paragraphs 4.17.2, 4.17.3 and 4.7.4). Losing eligibility, such as a new job with a health plan or the sponsor separating, ends coverage without a lockout. A young adult who starts a job with a plan must ask to end TYA within 30 calendar days (paragraph 4.15).

At 26, TYA ends. Paragraph 4.8.5 points those young adults to the Continued Health Care Benefit Program. For the rest of the 2027 TRICARE changes, see our open season guide.

Rates shown are the 2027 TYA premiums and FY2026 basic pay. Always verify with your finance office and TRICARE contractor before making financial decisions.